One of the most relaxing activities I have experienced as of last is simply reading the right things, at the right time. There is something special in being able to enjoy the morning rays of sun drifting through a window and feeling its warm presence while sipping on a hot drink and reading something intellectually moving.

As of late, I started reading some of the passages in The Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition. I find them inspiring, in a lingering mix of poetic illustrations and deeper reflections on our nature as humans, the sense of time, and the morality behind it all. I think that lots of pieces within that book could become the source of new articles in themselves, reflections and discussions that are worth having, either alone in an introspective manner, or with others, both friends or strangers. Becoming more “present”, as the author frequently puts is, is something essential to forcing this perspective on the symbolism of supposedly mundane moments or details.

Being present is being able to stop time, or dramatically reduce the pace at which our society has come to impose on us all. It’s being able to look at something simple, such as a hot drink on a sunny morning, and decipher all of the complex interplay of aesthetically pleasing shapes that are formed in movement as the liquid moves around after a sip. And further, finding inspiration in those patterns, that can resemble other phenomena, and sometime symbolically represent some of our condition.

A meditative aspect

And just like many introspective observation exercises, there is a sense of calm and relaxation closely tied to it. Being able to attribute the time needed for that state to occur instead of falling into the meanders of instant gratification that are ever always present. Focussing on our breathing, is very similar for me as focussing on the changing patterns of light reflecting on various objects and matters. Ultimately, it is also a greater sense of satisfaction, as that activity provides me with a subtill sense of gratification. The act of having opened up my thoughts to something small, and conceptualizing how it can have a much greater impact in itself, because it contributes to creative thinking and the generation of new ideas. Aren’t some of the most important scientific discoveries after all based on some mundane observations that triggered an idea?

Controlling time

My current perspective on “being present” is also very much being able to go past the concept of time and ageing, which seem to have become the ever-present threat that is chasing us. The capitalistic narratives have fully established a theory of time tightly coupled to productivity, and delivery, leading to more or less production, and thus profit. While the economic link has become widely accepted, I can’t help but nag at such a primitive paradigm, where a linear relationship is expected to continue despite the lack of control on some of the most important variables. While Taleb mocks economists and their lack of predictive power, I feel concerned at the power of their narrative despite its lack of legitimacy.

There is more than just the economic angle of time control, it has also become a social awareness challenge. People are scared of ageing, and they want to have achieved a set of predetermined goals by given decades (having done X in my 20’s, having done Y in my 30’s). While it’s likely closely coupled to a capitalist view of the world, it has much sadder consequences on us all. I have seen few things as profound as the deep despair and fear in the eyes of an elderly person that looks back at their past with regrets. Regrets of not having prioritized what could have ultimately given them a sense of presence and completeness. Because ultimately, the control of time is a phenomenon that removes some of the humanness that make use who we are. “The only person who will remember that you worked extra time in 30 years are your kids”. Interestingly enough, I have the impression that the few who dared to be present in their lives hold less regrets and fears about their future, they advance confidently because their advance is not measured by a distance but rather an internal journey.

A daring glimpse into the future

While the net of narratives being channelled towards us is ever more complex and deceiving, it is a challenge for each and everyone of us to invest into becoming more present, at the cost of some preconceived priorities that should not be there in the first place. Sometimes the best experience we can have lies in accepting to disconnect from this complex web that has become established to sustain an unsustainable set of practices. Let’s change that.