Living in the Moment
What is the difference between living in the now and living for the now?
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Daily Dispositions
I hope everybody will pardon my taking a step away from the more insignificant aspects of life (see my last newsletter) to talk about a weightier topic. I want to talk about an inherent tension that I believe all humans face: the difference between living IN the now and living FOR the now. This isn’t about making a linguistic distinction but, rather, it’s about distinguishing between two different dispositions that guide our daily life. The proper disposition will help us experience each day and moment as it ought to be experienced and lead to a more joy-filled life.
While these two dispositions are profoundly different, the differences are not immediately obvious. First, living in the now and for the now seemingly both have a focus on the present moment and not a focus on any moments in the future. Second, they both connote a sense of satisfaction in the experience of the present moment, not a longing to experience something else. Finally, they both seek to address the core question of the human experience: how do we take full advantage of the time we have here on earth?
Living FOR the Now
Distinctions require definitions though so what exactly do I mean by living in the now and for the now? I’ll start in reverse order with living for the now. When I say living for the now I am referring to the mentality that because life is short and time is limited the best way to enjoy it is to do the things that are enjoyable. In other words, “the now” becomes a feeling or experience that seems to bring ultimate satisfaction.
Essentially, living for the now is not about the present but rather a future moment that one expects to bring satisfaction. Because it is not always available in the present moment, living for the now is a continuous chase for this feeling. Once one experiences this euphoric feeling, the goal is to ensure its continuation as long as possible.
If you don’t know what I mean by that euphoric feeling or “the moment” than an example will help. My friend in reference to drinking said, “There is nothing like that 30 minute period when you are on top of the world and you lose track of time.” There is a reason that people say “time flies when you’re having fun” because it’s absolutely true. I am referring to those moments. The ones that make you lose track of time and forget all about the worries or plans for the future.
They can be, and often are, manufactured through substances like alcohol, but they are not limited to substances. They can occur when you are in the midst of a date with someone that you don’t want to end or at a sporting event where your team pulls out a last second victory or engrossed in a movie. Like I said, living for the now means pursuing these moments as frequently as possible and soaking in every last second of when you are experiencing them.
The issue with this is that those moments always end and they never last as long as we would like. Not only that but what do we do with the moments in between? The unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of our lives will not be spent experiencing those moments of euphoric happiness that we don’t want to end. As a result, when we live for the now we find ourselves really living in the past by remembering those euphoric moments or living in the future in anticipation of the next.
This is one of the reasons why when an event happens that makes us reminisce, such as a wedding, funeral, graduation, anniversary, birthday, etc., we are very often struck with a sense of loss. Yes, it is true that the sense of loss comes from the symbolic end of something, such as a life, childhood, high school, college, year, or an era, but I think it is more than that. I think the sense of loss also stems from the reality that we could have appreciated the time we had so much more than we did. You see, those moments of euphoria that we experience, we aren’t really sad when we look back at them. We may miss the feeling they gave us and want that feeling again but we don’t have the same sense of loss that they have ended. That’s because we fully appreciated them as they were happening. So, how can we fully appreciate the time in between those euphoric moments?
Living IN the Now
Living in the now is striving to live so that every moment in the present is fully appreciated. It means losing track of time throughout the day because you are totally engrossed in whatever you are doing. Again, this could be hanging out with friends, going on a date, reading a book, or watching a movie. However, living in the now also means losing track of time and fully appreciating the mundane moments that are seemingly pointless. These are activities like folding laundry, doing work, waiting in line somewhere, driving in the car from place to place, or washing dishes. Living in the now means making these moments as enjoyable and meaningful as possible.
As a result, living in the now is inherently focused on the present. It does not consists of looking backwards or forwards in search of a certain feeling. In fact, I would argue that it does not consists of a feeling really at all. Yes, feelings of happiness will often accompany living in the now but they are not the place from which the sense of fulfillment comes. Rather, the sense of fulfillment comes because when we are living in the moment we are accomplishing our ultimate purpose of glorifying God by finding joy in Him.
If God is sovereign over all and He is always dwelling in His people, then those dull, mundane, ordinary moments become infinitely (literally) more important. Since God is sovereign over all, the seemingly mundane task turns out to be a God ordained task set specially for you to complete to the best of your ability and the waiting in line turns into an opportunity to reflect on God and His goodness. Not only that, the moments of euphoria that living for the now constantly chases are not mere feelings but are God given moments of joy that are a sneak peek of an ultimate joy to come.
Furthermore, when we are born again as Christians the Holy Spirit dwells in us meaning God is always present with His people. God is the source of all joy which means that we have the source of all joy available to us at every second of every day. When we live in the moment, we are constantly seeking out ways to untap this fountain of joy in the present, not hoping to experience it in the future.
Finally, this means that this untapped fountain of joy is available to us at all moments regardless of the external circumstances. When life is mundane, this source of joy is readily available to endow each moment with meaning fulfillment. When life is wonderful, this source of joy is readily available to enrich each moment with joy that is inexpressible. When life is miserable, this source of joy is readily available to provide moment by moment relief from what feels like ongoing suffering. This is what living in the now looks like.
However, living in the now is impossible apart from God. If we haven’t recognized our sin, confessed, repented, and been reborn then we will forever live FOR the now in search of this joy with no chance of ultimately reaching it. It is our sin that robs us from experiencing ultimate joy and as long as we are enslaved to our sin then it is impossible to experience this ultimate joy. However, we cannot free ourselves from our sin and the consequences of it through our own actions so we are always robbed of ultimate joy. That is, unless God Himself comes down to us and takes our sin upon Himself and gives Himself to us in the form of His Spirit. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is exactly this. Let us all live IN the now, so as to live a life not wasted.
God Bless,
Hunter Burnett