“To care for the present is to care for the future.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh, Our Appointment with Life
Ninety-one-year-old Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, whom Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, has long advocated for mindfulness of the moment: Our past is in each moment because it leads up to where we are, and grounding ourselves in the present moment helps shape the future. Last Sunday I had the opportunity to observe this in action.
During my once-a-year visit in California with my best friend, she got a phone call from someone saying that her husband had had an accident and was in the hospital. Despite this shocking news and its related uncertainty, she stayed remarkably calm. Past experience taught her that freaking out prevented her from thinking clearly. Practicing mindfulness in the present moment, she called a friend who worked at the hospital to see if she could check on her husband, made sure her pets—including her cat Charlie that had just had surgery—were all taken care of, put a phone charger in her purse and locked the doors before we started the thirty-minute drive to the hospital. By breathing and caring for the present moment, she prepared for the uncertain future.
How can you practice mindfulness in the present moment to shape your future?
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