A few years back, I had a student that was so indifferent toward his assignments that it seemed as though he was intent on wasting the moments of his life. It is not that I believe that my subject matter is the most interesting nor the most important. However the fervor and reckless abandon with which he wasted time made me coin the word “Anti-Now”. His attitude seemed to go beyond procrastination into a space of total indifference toward himself.
Productivity is a sliding scale and we can never truly live each moment to the fullest. Saving the planet while making a billion dollars and loving all of our most important people equally at the same time just seems too tall an order even for Superman. However I do believe that it is important to make the realization that now is truly all that we have. The past is now a memory and the future is not guaranteed. So now is what our entire life is made of.
There is a definite balance to be struck between enjoying the moment and preparing for that uncertain future. The only thing that I believe truly needs to be avoided is the position of being anti-now. Taking the moment and throwing it away on purpose out of spite or indifference seems unthinkable at my age. I suppose to a certain extent this comes with age. At some point I hope that my former student realizes that he is running out of NOWS. Then perhaps he will spend them with intention.
Huryk Unlimited 