How Much Of Life Are You Actually Living?

I'm not sure I agree.<p>Consider a metaphor.<p>Transfer your weight onto one foot while leaning forward, in order that your center of gravity is temporarily over-extended, while simultaneously putting your free foot out to 'catch' yourself from falling. Now rinse and repeat. Thus: walking.<p>If you want to walk faster, lean further forward. It's like watching a Segway, but with articulation.<p>All willful locomotion -- whether bipedal or otherwise -- depends on initiating a controlled disequilibrium which ultimately results in a prefered new equlibrium.<p>So it is with looking forward to things in life. Planning for the future. Saving for a rainy day. Working hard today for a better tomorrow.<p>The ability to conceptualize the _consequences_ of a temporarily destabilizing disequilibrium is what makes man master of the world.<p>So 'living in the future', far from being a modern malaise, is precisely what enables progress, advancement and civilisation. That doesn't mean that the disequilibrium is always comfortable while it's happening. Indeed, our atavistic selves usually counsel rest in the absence of an urgent limbic call to action -- when we're not starving or physically threatened, say.<p>But meanwhile, the higher brain recognises that the competion for scarce resources in a hostile world is relentless. And that means running to keep up -- however uncomfortable that might sometimes feel.<p>Indeed, deferred gratification (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_gratification" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_gratification</a>) is analysed as an indicator for intelligence and emotional maturity.<p>And as for the dishes, whatever he may claim, Thich Nhat Hanh's superordinate goal when he washes the dishes is to have clean dishes. If he can enter a state of flow (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)</a>) while doing so -- whether because he has phenomenal mental self-control, or an unusually quiet life -- then so be it. But most people can't, and would find their "cognitive surplus" (the brain parts left unused while dishes are being done) better invested in preparatory mental activity, or contructively anticipating the future.<p>And if he got the dishes done quickly rather than dawdling and daydreaming, he'd be back at the table to enjoy more time with his dinner guests, in whose gratitude he will find favour, and through whose company he will obtain the familiar state of flow which most humans achieve through routine social interaction.

I notice a huge difference in how much "stuff" happens in my life when I'm traveling vs. when I have a job.<p>Home life is measured in weeks and months, and when you ask somebody what's new, they'll say "not much" and maybe tell you what they did last weekend. Or the weekend before that.<p>Road life is measured in hours. I'll find myself telling somebody a story of this amazing thing that happened earlier on my trip, possibly in another country, and suddenly realize that it was only 3 days ago. A month of travelling compresses so much life into such a short span that it's really strange checking in with friends back in the world that can account for that same month with a single sentence.<p>There are times when life in the 'states can approximate that (the first weeks of a new startup for instance), but it's so easy to drop back into steady state where life is measured in calendar time.

As with most things in life, too much of anything is generally a bad thing. If one constantly lives in the moment, forsaking entirely the idea of a future and its implications, then the chances of amounting to anything in life are greatly reduced, since the ability to look forward and hope for a better reality are tightly entwined with the concept of planning. How can one develop both personally and professionally without looking ahead? On the other hand, if one concentrates exclusively on the future, neglecting the minutiae of everyday life, one will, invariably, miss life altogether. I think it's just a matter of perspective. <i>Balance is key.</i>

"doing the dishes to do the dishes" sounds all well and good, but it's predicated on the idea that all activities are equally worth doing, because they're all living. Which is ridiculous. Consider "sitting there while the monk does the dishes to sit there while the monk does the dishes", or "be horribly tortured to be horribly tortured".<p>Not all activities are of equal value, and it's natural to want to maximize the high payoffs (time with family, solving good problems, sex, etc) and minimize the low (dishes).

One size fits all life philosophy is a little annoying. "If you examine your own life, you'll see what I'm saying is true <i>for you</i>, whoever you are!" Even if it's true for many people, it's not true of all people, and the author makes no effort to distinguish.<p>edit: deleted example paragraph

Not what I expected, but it was nice.

The irony is he tries to make a Zen point by saying "people are doing X too often" or "people are doing X wrong" which is entirely impossible, of course, because people can't do anything "too often" or "wrong".<p>They're already doing precisely what they want at the exact interval they choose! Zen isn't teaching anything better than what we have; it isn't an improvement. Technically speaking, Zen isn't teaching anything, period. But that's the point.<p>Articles like these are good indicators that a person is starting to "get" Zen, a little bit. And that's great. Good luck Glen, and congratulations on choosing to live more in the moment. And congratulations in advance for whatever reality you choose to create next :)

Sounds a bit like what I was told this guy wrote about: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525948023" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525948023</a><p>Haven't read it or anything like it yet. Nevertheless, the idea that one might be caught up in planning and looking forward and forgetting the joy of the moment about that doesn't sound too far fetched to me...

It was a nice read!!! I am having the problem of not leaving into now. While working i always thinking about other fun stuff and while fun activity i always thinking about my tasks. Does others also having the same issue, and any technique to improve this.

I can say that when I'm writing code, I'm writing code. Reading HN, checking email, etc., don't have the same feeling.

thanks for the post. reminds me of a time I was totally relaxed, did what I had to, and liked what I did. It is a great feeling to focus just on single things.<p>What helps are repeating rituals. Like brushing teeth right before going to bed. Therefore one is able to switch different tasks more easily and separated.

Do you live to work, or do you work to live?