There is always something to look forward to and there is always thoughts of what we could have done better...it's a hard practice to stay in the present. As humans, unless we are focusing on a task that has our 100% attention, like river rafting, we drift.
We think about conversations or situations we have lived through and how we could have done them, said them created them different. We hypothesize about our future, the next day the next gathering the next event in our lives or for our careers, job, children of family. The reality is that all we really ever have is right here right now, right this very second...and now this second and now this second. Staying present is a difficult place to stay. What can we do to stay present, how can we stop thinking and planning our lives away? We set internal, personal deadlines for ourselves. "When I reach this tax bracket I will be happy, when I loose these extra 15 pounds I will be so happy, when I get my dream house I will finally be happy, once I am on vacation I can finally relax. Have you ever said these things? Of course, we all have. What if we stay in the moment all of the time? What about being happy right NOW? What if we live each and every second and hour and day of our lives completely in the moment? What would change? What could shift? What could be possible is that we could truly enjoy the moments as we live them without expectation or regret? What's possible from here...and now here...and now here?