“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

As we all know, present life is so fast-paced that it is difficult for us to enjoy the moment or live in the present. Matthew Killingsworth noted in his 2011 TED talk, “Mind-wandering is likely a cause, and not merely a consequence, of unhappiness.” His research aggregated data from 15,000 people across 80 countries of various ages and income levels. His study suggests that mind wandering has a more significant effect on happiness than other factors like income, education, gender, and marital status.  One particularly interesting data point found that on average, peoples’ minds wander 47% of the time.  However, Scripture says it well: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt 6:34)

The issue is well illustrated in an anonymous French folktale Peter and the magic thread, also known as “The Magic Thread.” One published version appears in William J. Bennett’s The Book of Virtues (1993). Robin Sharma later retold the tale in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.. The story has circulated in many forms, and its original author and earliest publication remain unclear. Here is the story:

The Magic Thread: A Reminder to Live in the Present

Peter is a lively, well-loved boy, but he has trouble enjoying the moment he is in. At school, he longs to be outside playing. While playing, he looks ahead to summer vacation. He is always imagining what comes next, missing the small pleasures of the day unfolding around him.

One morning, while resting in a forest, Peter meets an old woman carrying a ball with a golden thread. She tells him it is the thread of his life: a gentle pull can make an hour pass in seconds, while a harder pull can carry him through days, months, or even years. Peter is delighted by the gift. If he can hurry through the parts of life he finds dull, he reasons, he can get sooner to the parts he is looking forward to.

 

At school, he pulls the thread and finds himself at home in the garden. Before long, though, childhood no longer seems exciting enough. He wants to be a teenager, so he pulls again. He becomes a young man with a girlfriend, Elise, but soon begins dreaming of adulthood. Another pull carries him forward. He and Elise are married, their home is full of children, and the years are passing.

Still, Peter is restless. He notices that his hair is turning gray and that his mother is growing old, but he continues to hurry toward whatever he imagines will be better. At last, he pulls the thread and becomes a ninety-year-old man. Elise has died, his children have grown up and left home, and the years he skipped are gone.

Only then does Peter understand what the thread has cost him. He never went fishing with his children or took a moonlit walk with Elise. He did not plant a garden or share the books his mother loved. He had hurried through his life without giving himself the chance to experience its ordinary joys—or even its difficulties. He feels he has missed the gift of living.

When the old woman offers him one final wish, Peter asks to return to childhood and live his life again. He wakes to find his young mother beside his bed, urging him to get up for school. This time, he begins to live differently. He stops treating the present as a stretch of time to get through on the way to something better.

The story’s lesson is simple, but easy to forget: life is made up of the moments we are living now. It is natural to look forward to a vacation, a new job, retirement, or some other hoped-for change. But when we focus only on what comes next, we can overlook the people, experiences, and small pleasures already within reach.

 

That does not mean every moment is wonderful, or that planning for the future is unwise. It means that the future should not consume our attention so completely that we fail to take part in the present. The “diamonds” in life may not announce themselves. They may be an unhurried conversation, a walk with someone we love, a book shared across generations, or time spent doing something simple together.

 

Let us stop rushing through life, pause and take in all that is happening at the moment. Life should not be a blur of activity, a burden of problems to be faced in the future or living the past. Life is what is happening to us right now. The conversation we are having with someone else. The enjoyment of a beautiful sunrise. The way to improve the enjoyment of the real world we are experiencing is by moment by moment.