I’m inspired once again by Thich Nhat Hahn’s writings in “Teachings on Love”:
Each moment of our lives, each moment that is given to us to live, we have to live very deeply. If you are capable of living deeply one moment of your life, you can learn to live the same way all the other moments of your life.
We have to live deeply. What does that mean?
I think it means we have to live in a way that connects the present moment with the profound capacity of our human spirit and soul. I think it means that we are to strive to establish a sense of full presence in the present.
Why do I like this idea?
First of all, who wouldn’t like the idea of living deeply? What I like here is the idea that any given moment has the potential to outlast itself on the basis of how I come to it. If I come to a moment shallowly, then it will pass equally undramatically. Kind of like a stone skipping on the water. If I come to a moment deeply, then it the moment will transcend itself. It will become more than a moment. Kind of like a stone dropped into the deepest part of the lake, sinking and sinking before hitting the bottom.
The moments we’re given are so precious and few, we owe it to ourselves to live them deeply. As deeply as we can. Our challenge is to figure out how to do this for ourselves, since they are our moments to live.