Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Way of Grace

Joy is found only in the present moment. Yet usually we find the mind swinging back and forth between the past and the future. We feel regretful or angry about something that has happened to us, or we worry about the way things will turn out.

Observe your mind. See how much time it spends on yesterday, last year, when you were a child. Yet the past is past. It is gone, finished. Why waste so much life in it? It’s the same with worry about tomorrow. When you were in school you were anxious about what to do after graduation. When you started your career you worried Will I ever reach my goals? You think I’ll be happy when I get a house. I’ll be happy when I’m married. When you get married you think I’ll be happier when we have children. When you have kids you think I’ll be happy when they are all on their own and I can have some peace.

You postpone your happiness until some perfect future date, but it never arrives.

Be in the present. If you are happy now, the past will not torment you. If you live life now, tomorrow will take care of itself. This is the Art of Living.

— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar