Recently I have come to realise that the biggest source of happiness is how we treat the present and whether we live in the now. I’ve seen Matt Killingsworth’s talk and it made me revisit what I read in Eckhart Tolle’s New Earth about the present.

Of course, Tolle wrote the whole book dedicated to the subject – The Power of Now. If you never read it, I strongly recommend it. This is one of those books that if read at the right time in somebody’s life, has a potential to be truly life changing.

In The Power of Now, whenever our mind gets in the hamster wheel of overthinking and we start worrying or feeling anxious, Tolle advises to pause and ask yourself – do I have a problem right now? I found this to be an incredibly therapeutic exercise because of course the answer is usually – no.

In The New Earth, Tolle talks about relationship between ego and present moment, the now.

And the ego’s greatest enemy of all is, of course, the present moment, which is to say, life itself.

What is ego?

The ego could be defined simply in this way: a dysfunctional relationship with the present moment.

What is the way to freedom? Staying in the now.

…only the present moment can make us free…

So what is the conclusion? Practical life advice?

The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness.

Or as Timber Hawkeye puts it in Buddhist Boot Camp,

Pause for a moment and honor the progress you’ve already made in your life, acknowledge the gifts you do have, and appreciate life itself for a few breaths.

Pause, my dear nomads, breathe, soak in what’s going on around you, be present, as in really present, as in do not let your mind wander off, and focus on what’s going on around you e. Isn’t life beautiful? Have an amazing Sunday!