53. Living in The Moment
Science and humanities are often seen as opposite fields; well, that’s what we’re told from the day we choose our educational path. But the writer and physicist Alan Lightman was the first to bridge the widely discussed gap – he is the first known professor to hold a joint appointment in both sciences and humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
So, I believe we can trust him more than others. His 1992 bestseller "Einstein's Dreams" is a collection of short stories that explore the nature of time. In this book, he clearly explains how humans experience seconds and centuries. Yes, days, months, and years have different meanings when we look back.
In one of Alan Lightman's short stories, he writes: "In a cosmos where everything is temporary, the only thing that has meaning is the moment because in 50 years, 100 years, or 200 years, there won't be anything left. Not only will there be nothing left of our bodies, but very little left of what we do as individuals.”
Furthermore, he explains, "It makes me pay more attention. I believe we often find ourselves sleepwalking through various periods of life. You're in the room, other people are in the room, and you're thinking about something else; you're not really present. That's life, passing us by."
He doesn’t believe that the universe has any meaning, or even that life has meaning. He writes: "I don't believe in a universal or absolute meaning. I don't think there's a common meaning we all strive for in our lives. I believe each person has to decide what is meaningful to them and then live their life accordingly."
And for that, we need to live in the moment because only then can we truly make the most of the limited time we have. Focusing on the task at hand boosts efficiency. Ancient philosophers and religious traditions have emphasized the benefits of living in the moment.
Living in the moment, also known as mindfulness, is at the core of Yoga, Taoism, and Buddhism, and it is believed to bring about happiness. People who practice this tend to be more empathetic, more secure, and more exuberant. However, it was once seen as just another good habit with no scientific proof to support it.
In 2010, some psychologists at Harvard University collected data on people's thoughts and feelings to determine how often they focused on their actions and what made them happier.
Their report concluded that ‘reminiscing, thinking ahead, or daydreaming tends to make people more miserable,’ not necessarily when they think about a bad experience; even when they are thinking about something pleasant, they still feel miserable.
Fortunately, only humans can focus on things that aren't happening right now, which allows them to reflect on the past or plan for the future. The mind can imagine scenarios that may never occur.
However, this unique ability can also cause a lot of unhappiness, since it’s often easier to daydream than to concentrate on what you're doing.
The twenty-first century is the age of distraction. With multiple gadgets and an overload of information, it’s not easy to stay present. But that’s the only way to move forward.
Just think about it – 200 years, millions, even billions of years, and we realize how brief our lives truly are in the grand scheme. But no matter how short our time is, we must make the most of it because that’s what matters to us.
Even in that short span, we can achieve incredible things. Many before us on this planet have done so, and many continue to do so. So, there's no reason to doubt our abilities. We definitely have the power to change whatever we want to.