The difference is that the appointment with Death happens only once, while the appointment with Life happens every single moment.
Embracing the force of life, being happy with being alive, experiencing the moment and being fully present Is it hard? Of course not.
“Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present. He is blessed over all mortals who loses no moment of the passing life in remembering the past.” - Henry David Thoreau, Walking
I’m not saying that not all of us can truly be present, but I am definitely saying that not all of us make the effort to be present. This half-presence can come from a lot of things, but most of the time, from what I’ve found out, is that people don’t take pride in their presence.
They may spend time on their phone while they’re surrounded by people, they may keep on looking down or away, and that is not only the sign of a deeply introverted person, but of a person who can’t take pride in their own self.
If your company is extremely bad, then what are you doing there in the first place? If your company is somewhat good, then you should try to amplify the moment with as much positivity as you can.
"Almost all sadness comes from thinking about the past, and all worry from thinking about “Almost all sadness comes from thinking about the past, and all worry from thinking about the future — present-mindedness is your only safe haven.” - Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
We have to leave all the traumatic events behind because they serve absolutely no good now. Once they happen, we should let those traumatic events build us into who we are today.
Also, whatever worry we have for the future, we should let it go because, well, it’s not going to be of any help. This is something that all of us already know, but let it act as a reminder.
Being alive is pretty great, even though the times are not the best. Just think about what the chances were for you to be born. Pretty slim.
Being alive at the same time as your friends is almost something magical, and we should enjoy it. We should be happy that we get to be alive now, to live in the same moment with our friends.
Because, after all, death claims its victims at every moment. There is a high chance that you’re going to be alive tomorrow as well, but no one can guarantee you that.
“The present moment, though fleeting, is the only tangible moment. The rest are but a heap of memories.” - Michael Bassey Johnson, The Oneironaut’s Diary
Not being present goes beyond being an introvert. Not being present comes from something deeper; it comes from not being OK with ourselves.
We really have to figure that out, otherwise, life will just slip away and we’ll wake up ten-twenty-sixty years later on our deathbed realizing that we haven’t really lived, we haven’t enjoyed our moments, and basically we were as good as dead.
How can we become more present?
Firstly, it is about rewiring our brains. We must reprogram ourselves to pay attention, to improve our attention span and to be really grounded in whatever happens, to pay attention to whoever speaks. Not only are we doing something good for ourselves, but we’re also going to make the other person feel good.
Secondly, and I think I can’t stress this enough, we must make ourselves proud of our presence. If we’re not happy with who we are, nobody, and I truly mean nobody, will enjoy our presence.
Being miserable brings us no good. Having a loser mentality will lead us nowhere. Being less than we really are will also give others a free way to treat us like lesser beings. And that’s why we need to strive to make everything better. Every single thing that we have control over should be as good as possible.
“The greatest gift you can give (yourself or anyone else) is just being present” - Rasheed Ogunlaru
So we must improve. We can improve absolutely everything that we can. We really have to put work into our family life, into our social circle, into our fitness, into our knowledge. There are people who lack knowledge, but they are very pleasant.
There are people who lack when it comes to their fitness level, but they are still treated well, but we shouldn’t aspire to that. We should want the best scenario possible, and that means ticking the boxes in every department.
It’s a very huge difference in how we get treated based on a lot of things, ranging from how we look to how much money we have and also how much knowledge we have. And we should definitely aim to keep everything at the highest level possible; otherwise, we’re putting great limitations on ourselves.
Conclusion
Being the best that we can be not only benefits the people around us, but it’s also the sacred duty that we have towards ourselves. Therefore, we should strive for this greatness in order to be able to be present and proud in every moment.
Being the best that we can be not only benefits the people around us, but it’s also the sacred duty that we have towards ourselves. Therefore, we should strive for this greatness in order to be able to be present and proud in every moment.
