When I was moving into my new apartment, I had two options.
Do I get a Moccamaster drip coffee maker, or do I get an espresso machine and separate grinder?
Tough choice, I know.
During my countless hours of research, I concluded that not only was the Moccamaster incredibly pleasing on the eye, but it saved so much time.
All I had to do was load the coffee grinds in, press start, and bam, a perfectly brewed cup of coffee at the click of a button.
Imagine how much time it would save me every morning!
All that spare time I could dedicate to… well, I don’t actually know.
See, I don’t really have anything I need to do.
I mean, I could leave for work and sit in traffic five minutes earlier each day, but that doesn’t sound like time well spent.
I don’t have any annoying kids I have to smack or entertain, so I can’t really play that card either.
After thinking on this for a few days, I couldn’t actually come up with a good reason as to why the hell I needed that extra time in the first place.
I was rushing no where.
And I feel like that’s been a common theme throughout my life.
As I’m sure it has been for you as well.
Why Are We Always In A Damn Rush?
“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”
Will Rogers
I wrote in last week’s newsletter that this is the first time since I was a kid where I don’t feel like I’m in a rush.
I’m gonna quote myself here (is that weird?):
“I think it’s been a struggle, especially as a young man, to differentiate between contentment and resignation.
“Contentment with the life I’ve built, the people that surround me, and my daily habits.
“But a slight battle with resignation, in a world where we’re always told we need to be more or have more.”
I think a big reason for this acceptance is the fact I’m getting older (28 eek) and realising there’s not much more to life than what we have right in front of us at this very moment.
If I read that last sentence a couple of years ago, I would’ve shuddered… there has to be more than this.
But I’m slowly learning that ‘more’ is simply a state of mind.
No matter where I am, who I’m with, or what I’m doing, all I have at that moment is the brain in my head and the veil of perception it’s chucking over every little thing I see, hear or smell.
And let me tell you, this brain ain’t trained too well (but it’s getting better).
Would younger Jack have thought standing in front of the Mona Lisa would be pretty damn incredible?
Yes, he would’ve.
Then he did it.
He thought it was alright.
Then he got a coffee afterwards, and life continued as normal.
This is not a tragedy, this is reality.
The mind will always return to a neutral state, no matter how great of a moment you experienced.
So this begs the question…
Are we rushing because our mind is so far in the future that anything in the present moment seems like sheer monotony?
I would say so.
And I would also say that if this is how our brains are programmed, then when we do finally get to experience those magical moments that we’ve been so desperately chasing, we won’t even have the capacity to take it all in.
And that, unfortunately, is speaking from personal experience.
You Have To Force The Present Moment
I’m not going to tell you to try and ‘live in the present moment’ because I know reading that line doesn’t do sh*t.
You need to force it out, because you can only live in the present when you realise that nothing ‘better’ is awaiting you in the future.
Here’s what I’ve found…
You need to experience the total opposite of presence before you can start actually living in it.
What I mean by this is you need to let yourself dream, let your mind race, overthink and wander (this is easy for most of us).
What is that thing you’re dreaming about doing that’s stopping you from living in this moment?
Is it backpacking or moving overseas?
Is it changing careers or studying something completely different?
Is it visiting The Louvre and standing in front of the Mona Lisa for like 20 seconds before security tells you to move?
If you actually go and do the thing you want to do, one of two things will happen.
One, you’ll either realise the thing you were dreaming about wasn’t actually that great after all, and that grand life really was just a sum of your imagination.
Or two, you’ll actually find something in your life that brings you the utmost joy (isn’t that amazing?).
To be honest, either of those outcomes are great, even if the first one doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
I understand that it’s so hard to live in the present when you’re not happy with your life situation.
And the reason I don’t feel like I need to rush now is because I actually am happy with my situation.
I think doing the things that I was dreaming about, and realising there’s really nothing else out there, was the precursor to this feeling of contentment.
I have everything I need here.
A place I love, people that entertain me and look out for me, a body that can move freely, coffee and sunshine.
I still have to do things I don’t want to do every day, but it would be the same in every life I live.
Wishing this wasn’t the case is wishing for a thing that doesn’t even exist.
Oh, and I got the espresso machine btw.