You ever drive yourself to work, to school pick-up, or the grocery store…and suddenly realize you don’t remember getting there? You’re not drunk. You’re just on zombie mode. It’s like your brain, locked into a moving vehicle, takes the opportunity to rest. Not the best time for a mental cat nap… but it happens. And doesn’t it feel a little unsettling? That’s your life on cruise control, folks. You’re going through the motions, but are you really going through life?
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, has a remedy for this. His philosophy is pretty straightforward: Be. Here. Now. It’s so simple, so basic, and yet we’re all spectacularly bad at it. We’re either reminiscing about the past (with varying degrees of selective memory) or sweating over the future (that vacation we’ll eventually take, if we survive the mortgage).
Thich has been whispering for years, “The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.” Yet, most of us treat the present like the annoying sidekick to the all-important past and future. But here’s the kicker: this moment is where life is actually happening. Right now, as you’re reading this, this is your life. Not tomorrow, not next week, and not when you finally get that raise.
Brain on Autopilot
When I find myself feeling disconnected from the present, it’s usually because something in the moment needs my attention. There’s an issue begging for resolution, whether it’s stress from work, a decision I’ve been avoiding, or just plain old burnout. And what do I do? I check out. My brain takes a mental vacation while my body goes through the routine. Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings remind me that checking out isn’t a solution. In fact, it just prolongs the problem. Instead, he suggests embracing the present, even when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when it’s uncomfortable.
And that, my friends, is when you realize you’re alive—not just on default settings.
Finding Thich Nhat Hanh
I first stumbled upon Thich Nhat Hanh in my early adulthood, back when I was studying religion, trying to figure out what the hell life was all about. His work was like a slap of clarity in the middle of the existential fog. I remember thinking, “Man, this guy has it so right.” And it’s so EASY. Such a simple explanation for life. We spend so much time thinking about what’s next or agonizing over what just happened, but here is this guy in the universe, calmly reminding us, “Hey, what about now?”
It’s like you’re “going through it,” stressed out, frazzled, or just plain lost. Are you really steering your own life at all, or have you set up anchor systems to avoid the changes? Or are you coasting? Coasting is good. A nice adaptability to the bumps along the way.
At several points in my life, when I felt like I couldn’t keep going through the motions—when the weight of everything seemed too much to bear—Thich’s words were a lifeline. They helped me take a breath, look inside, and find my own answers. Not from some guru on a mountaintop, but from within myself. The solutions were already there. I just had to stop long enough to see them.
Mindfulness: More Than a Buzzword
Thich Nhat Hanh doesn’t want you to quit your job, sell your house, and live in a monastery. Although 2 out of the 3 of these sound amazing. His whole deal is bringing mindfulness into your everyday life. He calls it “washing the dishes to wash the dishes,” not while drafting your grocery list, replaying last week’s argument, or mentally preparing for tomorrow’s meeting. Just… wash the damn dishes. Seems so easy, but our minds are busy working through so much stimuli that it can’t stay on one channel. Until you learn mindfulness.
Now, maybe washing dishes doesn’t feel like your thing, but what if you approached life with that kind of clarity? The next time you’re juggling work stress, family drama, and existential dread, stop. Seriously, just stop. Breathe. Ask yourself: what’s happening right now? Where am I? What’s real in this exact moment?
If you’re eating, eat. If you’re walking, walk. If you’re stuck in traffic (again), maybe enjoy the fact that, for once, you don’t have to be anywhere but right there.
Life Is Happening Now
Look, we all get lost in the shuffle. Mid-life is the perfect time to realize that the years are speeding up, and we’re missing out on the now while obsessing over the then and later. But life isn’t waiting. You’ve been “going through it,” but…but this is it. There’s no special moment waiting to arrive. It’s already here, and it’s probably wearing yesterday’s pajamas.
“People sacrifice the present for the future. But life is available only in the present.”
That’s not just a fancy Zen quote—it’s the literal reality we’re mostly too busy to notice.
Mid-life is prime time to retire the autopilot and grab an oar. (Don’t judge my metaphors). Start small. Notice where you are right now. Take a breath. Maybe even smile (yes, even if life is a mess). After all, it’s your mess, and it’s a beautiful one.