HEALTH + WELLNESS
IT WAS ANCIENT CHINESE PHILOSOPHER AND AUTHOR OF THE TAO TE CHING ( THE FOUNDATIONAL TEXT OF TAOISM ), LAO TZU , WHO SAID : “ IF YOU ARE DEPRESSED YOU ARE LIVING IN THE PAST . IF YOU ARE ANXIOUS YOU ARE LIVING IN THE FUTURE . IF YOU ARE AT PEACE YOU ARE LIVING IN THE PRESENT .” A QUOTE THAT NOT ONLY MAKES PERFECT SENSE , BUT THAT ’ S RESONATED WITH ME SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT MANY MOONS AGO . WHICH IS ALL WELL AND GOOD . UNDERSTANDING SOMETHING , AND RELATING TO SOMETHING STRONGLY , DOES NOT AN ACTION MAKE , HOWEVER ; TZU ’ S MUSING – AS PROFOUND AND ACTIONABLE AS IT SOUNDS , IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE . BY POLLY HUMPHRIS
The notion of living in the now – not looking back or forward , just simply being present in the moment – is clearly not a new idea . It was the ancient Roman poet , Horace , who suggested we all ‘ carpe diem ’ way back in 23 BC ; Zen Buddhism , a school of thought that emphasises the value of meditation and intuition to rethink one ’ s current state of mind and harness positive mental health , has been around since forward-thinking Indian monk , Bodhidharma , established it in 5th century China ; and every yogis ’ bible , the Yoga Sutras , an insightful tome dating back to the 2nd century BCE , highlights the importance of practicing mindfulness and living in the present moment to avoid excessive worry about the future or ruminating over past events .
No doubt we ’ ve all heard the message relayed in one way or another , so why is it so hard for many of us to follow the advice ? One glaring denominator is surely ‘ modern life ’ – a world away from the planet ’ s bygone classical age , today we live in a near-persistent state of distraction in both our personal and our professional lives . Constant fragmentation of our time and concentration has become the new normal ; meetings , emails , clutter , interruption , noise , social media , and yes , you guessed it , smartphones , have , rather than develop our ability to multitask , eroded our ability to concentrate fully on one thing at a time . People in the UK check their smartphone , on average , every 12 minutes of the waking day , and 40 % look at their phone within five minutes of waking up . It ’ s no wonder we ’ re losing the art of focus .
There is nothing we can do about society ’ s rapid evolution , though , and on reflection , it seems humanity is adapting with ease to technology ’ s rampant advances . Physically at least . Mentally , not so much . According to the latest statistics from mental health charity , Mind , more than one in seven UK adults say their mental health is currently either bad , or the worst it ’ s ever been , with depression and anxiety cited as the leading causes of this ongoing problem . Additionally , in the UK in 2024 , the term ‘ how to reduce stress ’ is searched on Google an average of once every 10 minutes , and , more worrying perhaps than any of this , young people aged 16-24 are the most affected by mental health struggles , with 23.5 % describing their mental health as either bad or the worst it ’ s ever been .
If , according to ancient teachings , it is indeed our overactive , overstimulated brains causing this concerning surge in anxiety and depression by either living too much in the past or looking too far ahead into the future , surely there ’ s never been a better time to start living in the present . That said , generally , there are two types of people in this world : those that do and those that don ’ t . Some , no matter how many tips , tricks or motivational chats you give them still don ’ t take action , and others will spring into proactivity as soon as the advice they ’ ve asked for has landed , but let ’ s face it , life can be tricky and sometimes even for the most active of doers , the idea of action can feel overwhelming .
Making positive change towards living in the now doesn ’ t need to be scary , however , and simply embarking on a journey to be more present can bring benefits that ripple out through every aspect of your life , helping you cultivate greater awareness and connection . All we ’ re suggesting is that you take on board some of the methods that will help you live and think ‘ in the moment ’ in a bid to learn a little more about these benefits – it is Now-vember , after all , and there really is no time like the present .
If you struggle to order your thoughts and find a path through when things get tough , journaling is a brilliant place to start and can really help with mental clarity . Essentially a modern buzzword for writing a diary , to journal is to write down any struggles or fears you might be feeling without judgement or shame , so when you ’ re feeling a bit lost , you can carve out some time to reflect on these and remind yourself how far you ’ ve come . Whether you choose to write daily , weekly , or just when you feel like it , the key is not to dwell ; the physical act of writing down any problems or concerns as they arise can help manage anxiety and stress simply because the act instantly acknowledges how you ’ re feeling . Once you ’ ve identified what your concerns are , you can address what you need to alleviate and plan to tackle these issues without them playing out in your mind in an everexhausting loop .
Next , gratitude – a term you may have heard being bandied about much more in recent years . Simply defined as the state of being grateful , practicing gratitude involves expressing thanks or appreciation for something as little as a kind gesture from a stranger to something more existential such as the gift of life itself . Practicing gratitude is all about recognising
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