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Alfie Lawson (he/him/his), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

I find this a tricky subject to approach. After all, appreciating the present isn’t something we can record or measure. It’s how we associate with our thoughts and feelings as we race through time. So offering meaningful advice on that is a bit of a challenge. There’s a plethora of online articles and discussion boards already dedicated to such issues, many of which provide fairly similar tips for “living in the moment.”

The truth is, at least from my perspective, that this is a universal, yet equally personal conundrum. We all have worries about the future, as well as reflections on our past, and still only the present moment to unpack it all. This is completely natural, but the problem is that right here, right now, is the space for the most important thing: our actual lives. 

Of course, those experiences are individual, meaning that taking it slow and enjoying the moment is something we can all work on in our own ways. As a result, I don’t feel right giving sweeping solutions when it comes to appreciating the present. Rather, I would like to share a bit of my own journey, and why I’ve been thinking about this lately. 

At the time of writing, I’ve been living abroad for two years, and working in a new job for around 12 months. I still don’t know if either of these things are going to be long-term, so I’ve spent a lot of the last year wondering . . . what else could I do? Where else could I go?

And it’s not like the past doesn’t creep into the present either. Our old selves shape who we are and what we worry about, and sometimes impact the decisions we make moving forward. Again, throughout the year, this has materialised as viewing my current life more critically. Is this what I should be doing? Did I make the right decisions to get here?

Ultimately, however, this tug-of-war between what’s happened and what’s to come is mostly just noise. I don’t mind thinking about these things from time to time, it certainly helps me feel as though I’m making more informed decisions, but it’s not something I always need on my radar. As we commence a new year, I’ve realised just how extraordinary this time of my life has been. I’ve progressed at my work and developed more of a passion for what I do, and spent the year making memories with friends new and old, all whilst living thousands of miles from where I came from. I still don’t have all the answers, but I think that’s pretty wild, and it’s nuts that I almost didn’t realise that as life continues to speed by.

I guess what I’ve realised is that new experiences make us wonder what a new future could look like, but much of what we desire is made by the present day. Being mindful of that is vital to enjoying things as they happen, as well as to understanding what we broadly want to prioritise in life.

The crux of it is that we are always learning more about ourselves. Change is inevitable over time, and how we view the past and the future is entirely fluid. Time itself has a habit of altering our outlook on a wide variety of things. I think having the patience to process these emotions, along with a proactiveness to occasionally tweak elements of life, can do a great deal when it comes to worrying less in the present moment.

I didn’t want to write an advice piece on how we can all “live in the moment,” as there is no way to instantly make this happen. And yet when things feel a little overwhelming, take a few breaths and remember to appreciate the journey whilst you’re on it. Be proud of the experiences that are uniquely your own, and remember that the time you have matters. It really matters. 

Who knows? When you appreciate the value of something like that, maybe that’s when the race of life slows down and we enjoy it that little bit more.

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