"While I sit here, I don't think of somewhere else, of the future or the past. I sit here, and I know where I am. This is very important.
Habitually, "we tend to be alive in the future, not now..... We are not capable of being alive in the present moment. We tend to postpone being alive to the future, the distant future, we don't know when. Now is not the moment to be alive.
We may never be alive at all in our entire life."
"Therefore, the technique,
if we have to speak of a technique,
is to be in the present moment,
to be aware that we are here and now,
and the only moment to be alive is the present moment."
"I know this is a wonderful moment.
This is the only moment that is real.
To be here and now, and enjoy the present moment,
is our most important task.
Calming, Smiling, Present moment, Wonderful moment.
I hope you will try it."
--Thich Nhat Hanh
from Being Peace, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, 1987, 1996, pages 6 and 7.