“We live only in the present, in this fleet-footed moment.”
(Marcus Aurelius)
The idea of focussing on the here and now over the unchangeable past and the uncertain future is at the core of the Stoics’ school of philosophy.
How can this help in our search of a less cluttered and more fulfilling life?
Reflect on the many objects we cling to in the hope that they will bring back the past. But in reality they weigh us down in moving on. Or the items we buy in the hope that they will, finally, give us the fulfillment we are so desperately looking for. But once it’s ours we already look for the next better one. And while we do, the moment is lost.
“If the things you own start owning you, there will be no space left, physically and mentally.”
The now is where we can live and be free, making the most out of it. Find contentment in the present with what you have, because it is literally what it says: a present for you to accept.