Let me pause for a moment and reflect on the 46th anniversary of JFK’s assassination – most probably at the hands of the military-industrial complex. Oops – what am I reflecting on the past for? It’s best to stay in the present…and this is what I will attempt to do with Living in the Moment.
There is a great scene in the Lion King, where the baboon counselor (I forget the furshlugginer name…Riki, Raki – fuck it) smacks the adolescent Simba upside-the-head — and when Simba reacts – he reminds Simba to forget the blow-to-the-head, because, it’s in-the-past.
My love of the original, Gene Rodenberry inspired Star Trek — with Kirk, Spock and McCoy — throws a strange paradox into my belief that we must live-in-the-here-and-now. Star Trek is an integral part of my past, my present, and, I believe – my future. The themes that I picked up on in the 60s, and rode the wave of the syndicated 70s on – became an IV for me in the 80s; anchored me in the 90s; and, provide nothing but pure satisfaction and clarity for me in this the 2nd millennium.
In psychotherapy school — we trainees and interns were warned to “stay in the moment” with our clients: to create that therapeutic space. We were warned that our clients would recognize that we were not “with them” if we made comments that were not attuned to the “report” of our clients. I took this perspective to heart – because I’ve recognized the negative reactions of children to parents and teachers over-the-years (not to mention my own memories of the absolutely detestable sensation of trying to swallow someone else’s bullshit) when an adult demands that the child accept unadulterated bullshit as Gospel. I guess it must perpetually be like the first (or every time?) someone swallows the male ejaculation: it can’t be that much fun. It’s true that “bullshit walks”…
So I guess, if we ever want to have a meaningful relationship with someone, (parent-child; student-teacher; lover; co-worker; friends et al.), we need to be “in the moment” with them.
This “state,” of being-in-the-moment — has always been a difficult “try” for me…though my parents would never suggest that I was abused by them. I’ve had the very similar experience of “splitting” – like the woman being raped – that ability to dissociate from the episode of violence, and quite escaping the traumatic moment.
Which leads us to medicinal America: We have constructed a social arena that is impossible to endure in the sober state – most-of-us have been sufficiently traumatized that we need to be anaesthetized to endure a social scenario. Can a chemically altered state truly allow one to “live in the moment”? I certainly believe that we can exist and/or function in-the-moment – but doesn’t “living” entail ahellovalot more?! Or, is this concept of “living” merely an illusion, a search for some horizon of experience that is never meant to be tasted in our empirical existence?
But, haven’t enough of us been therapized and paid our dues so that we needn’t bring our baggage (that nonsense of the past) into our here-and-now interactions?
Damn! I think I’ll just stick with Abraham Cowley’s contention that nothing in Nature is sober found – so I’ll try to-be-in-the-here-and-now, but whenever time gets warped (for whatever reason) – who am I to try and swim against a current. I think I’d rather just go-with-the-flow…