“You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea.You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.Life is like that.If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone.You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life.It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished.Learn from it and let it go.The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.Worrying is worthless.When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment.Then you will begin to experience joy in life.”

“To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.”

“Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”

“The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do?”

“The present is what is happening when you strip away all the resentments of your past and all the worries you have about your future.”

“We have negative mental habits that come up over and over again. One of the most significant negative habits we should be aware of is that of constantly allowing our mind to run off into the future. Perhaps we got this from our parents. Carried away by our worries, we're unable to live fully and happily in the present. Deep down, we believe we can't really be happy just yet—that we still have a few more boxes to be checked off before we can really enjoy life. We speculate, dream, strategize, and plan for these "conditions of happiness" we want to have in the future; and we continually chase after that future, even while we sleep. We may have fears about the future because we don't know how it's going to turn out, and these worries and anxieties keep us from enjoying being here now.”

“The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”