E-Archive

VOL. 26 January ISSUE YEAR 2025

Off the Beaten Track

in Vol. 26 - January Issue - Year 2025
Are You Really Present?
Rishabh Shah

Rishabh Shah

Sun kissed by the early morning sunshine, amidst breeze of fresh air, Jay was sitting calm and still in the silence of the mountain. The only movement he could feel was the thoughts in his mind, and the soft breathing, both of which were slowing down with the passing time.

Jay’s recent interest was to catch hold of the mysterious and elusive present moment. The entire life happens in the present moment they say… but where this moment is, few of us know. 

He would mostly start his day with a walk to the mountain close to his house, and a short mediation. There were many tasks needed to be completed during the day, and of course ‘urgent’ ones were pressing him, even when it was a long time yet to reach the office. But that was the state of his mind always… and he would gently make effort to bring himself back to the present.   

He had realised that slow living was working for him as it enabled him to be more focused, composed and efficient. It kept him from being mechanically pulled into reactions but instead made him stay in awareness. What’s more, wherever he was and whatever he did during the day, he tried his best to be completely ‘available’ to the job at hand.

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In today’s world, being present is not just a philosophy; it’s a skill - a skill many of us seem to lack. We’ve all been there: sitting at a dinner table, nodding mechanically at someone’s heartfelt story while mentally drafting an email, planning dinner, or trying to remember the actor’s name in that movie. Being present is hard. Honestly, who has time to be present when there are so many notifications to check and videos to scroll through?

The attempt to be present often becomes unintentionally funny. Consider yoga class, the ultimate sanctuary of mindfulness. There you are, surrounded by serene people practicing deep breathing, while you’re mentally calculating whether you have time to pick up the dry cleaning before your next meeting. And then, just as you’re about to nail a downward dog, someone’s phone buzzes, and you spend the next five minutes wondering who’s texting during shavasana. Spoiler alert: it’s probably you.

One of the perks of the modern-day living is struggle of staying present in the age of distractions. Our relentless pursuits have also made mindful living a million-dollar business. We are never settled where we are but always wander elsewhere, we prefer to live in our imagination rather than in reality. The mechanical way of living simply pulls you down to live in a fixed way. There is no room for imagination or creativity.

Let’s face it - modern life is designed to pull us out of the present. But instead of being more connected, we’ve become more scattered. Forget multitasking - most of us are multi-ignoring everything happening around us. Overworked minds become stressed and we keep trying to do more… I wonder why we press the remote hard just when we know that batteries are dying?!

There’s a reason every inspirational quote about life boils down to “enjoy the moment.” (Well, except for the ones about climbing mountains or dancing in the rain - those are just impractical.) When you’re truly present, life becomes richer, funnier, and even a little magical. You notice things - like the way sunlight filters through trees or the hilarious way your dog tries to catch its tail.

The key would be to lower our expectations. You don’t need to become a Zen master who can meditate through a fire alarm. Start small. Maybe put your phone down during dinner, take a deep breath when stuck in traffic instead of fantasising about moving to an island with no cars. Laugh at our own ridiculous inability to focus, and then try again.

Being present is like eating kale. You know it’s good for you, but it doesn’t come naturally. The trick is to approach it with humour and patience. Accept that we’ll mess up - probably a lot. We’ll check our phone during a conversation. We’ll zone out during a meeting. And that’s okay. Life is messy, and so is the art of being present.

So, here’s to the imperfect, funny journey of staying in the moment. May we all occasionally look up from our screens, laugh at our own absurdity, and remember that life is happening right now - even if we’re really bad at noticing.

MFN Trainer and Head of  Operations of Daksha: rishabh.shah@daksha.net