It's a pleasure to read this newsletter this week. Not only is it filled with the wisdom gleaned from millennia of quotations but it is leavened with the wisdom gained by decades of psychology study and practice. And we get another dose of this tantalizing, blended elixir every week.
Good morning....just 7AM here....woke up to the worst news... I'm taking your advice and trying to live in this moment, not yesterday or even 5 minutes from now. Trying NOT to think. Mardy, it's uncanny the timing of your newsletter topics.... Thanks for reminding me to 'be here now'... Stay safe everyone. PS Mel Brooks is one of my favorite human beings...thank you.
I think I first became aware of Anne Bancroft, the actress, when she played in The Graduate, as Mrs. Robinson. I was surprised to learn that she was the wife of Mel Brooks. Wouldn't it have been great fun to know them as a couple? How lucky to have been married to a man that could make me laugh as he must have done. His comedy was exceptional and he rarely had to fall back on the 'lowest form of humor' (puns) to achieve his objectives!
You're right, Arlene, we all woke up to a startling new reality. Nobody knows exactly where all of this is going, so we're all going to have to take a few deep breaths.
gotta share an experience in a psyche course in the late 1960's. First day of class, sitting in a circle, probably 30 students. Instructor said something about 'living in the moment'. On one wall was an assortment of paper, scissors, etc. He told us to use the materials to make a design showing how we 'are at this moment'. Well, I jumped up, got my paper, along w/ some red paper, cut out some red lips, shaped in a smile, glued it on, sat down. I then noticed EVERYONE intensely working working working... I couldn't see what exactly they were doing but I began getting more & more nervous. Finally everyone sat down, the instructor had the person next to me start describing the "in the moment", going around the room, away from me, leaving me till last. EVERYONE had designed elaborate lifetime mosaics of how their lives were, how they reached the point at which they were, etc., etc... It came to my turn, I held up my "smile" & said "this was where I was when I sat down" then I flipped it over into a frown & said "this is how I am now"
My other memory is better.... when my first child was born I thought of the times we would go for walks, for example, & I would now see things for the first time as he did, such as an ant on the sidewalk... I wrote my dad (my mom was no longer living) a letter about now experiencing perhaps the first feelings as a parent as he might have...
Love the DH Lawrence quote ... as we near the beginning of rebuilding our home which was destroyed by fire on 27 February, we hold our past memories dearly in our hearts but look forward to our new home. All the while, we live in the present, still salvaging what remains from the debris before it heads to the landfill, sorting out what it means to have survived the fire along with our five "orange marmalade" clowder of felines. As you note, in a full live we must learn from the past, plan for the future, and live in the present. Thus, the image of Lawrence cutting up oranges to make marmalade. Scrubbing the floor helps, too. :)
Thanks so much, David. That Lawrence quote was special, wasn't it? How nice to hear that you're rebuilding your home--and your lives--after your recent nightmare.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. It's a good maxim because it releases what has been and allows what will come to focus and appear. For 14 wonderful years we were fortunate to have lived along side two eager for life dashchunds. I took my cues from them because they constantly lived life in the moment. I miss Stretch and Slinkey because I have to do it all myself now.
Mardy, Sunday mornings are moments I live for and cherish, because you're always in them. I so enjoy it when you kick me in the brain.
Thanks for weighing in on the subject, Mike. Stretch and Slinkey are with you no longer, but they will live forever in your memories. We've spent many Sunday mornings together, and here's hoping we can keep it going long into the future!
Your quote was the most original I have ever heard on the subject (that I know well) of living in the precious present. Well done Mardy! The practice definitely becomes easier as I age.
About the past, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NIV), “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”
About the future, Jesus says in Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV), “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ...But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
About the present, one of my favorite quotes is this: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift—that's why it's called the present." (This quote is frequently attributed to various sources, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Bil Keane (creator of The Family Circus), and even Kung Fu Panda, though its exact origin is uncertain.)
Thanks for sharing the biblical passages, Scott. I can always count on you for finding something relevant in scripture. I love that final quote as well. I have a slightly different version of it in my DMDMQ, attributed to "Author Unknown": https://www.drmardy.com/dmdmq/p#present_as_in_time
Nice. I love sharing from Scripture (as you can tell). I've studied it my entire life, and it speaks to virtually all areas of life. Thank you for your grace.
I'm finding it very hard to live in the present moment today. My mind is leaping to the future with fears about how we can ever recover from the damage that the US President has done in the few months of being in office. Crowned by the terrible bombing last night.
this is not to support T (the news caught me totally by surprise!! We're traveling, w/ all my sons, to a different location from all of us, w/ my 6 grandkids, which to me, adds a degree of 'discomfort' which really isn't the correct word) is letter is, imo, saying things that many in the US aren't aware of...
So many, many layers - absolutely, like 1) the driver in front of me (an hour ago) who had his directional blinker on for 1/2 a mile, or 2) a theme that I keep in my phone "Anxiety is not truth." "Truth" is now, but that's not to forget to plan ahead - but start your planning NOW. I long, long ago espoused the theme: Do it; do it right; do it right now.
And, as I noted in one of your prior columns, Is now too soon?
Whoa ... I love your discussion of human ruminators and the distinction between ruminations and reflective thinking or introspection. Thank you, once again, for enriching my day. (Somedays my wheels keep spinning! :) )
Thanks, Roger. I've always loved the word "rumination" and was delighted to finally find a place to use it! Happy to hear the piece stimulated your thinking.
I was listening to an interview on the radio of a woman who had lived a remarkable life. She had gone sky diving for the first time on her 95th birthday, which had prompted the interview. To close the discussion the interviewer asked her what message she wanted to leave for the radio audience. Without so much as a pause she said, "Be here now."
Thanks for sharing that great story, Jack. "Be Here Now" was the title of a 1971 book by Ram Dass (formerly Richard Alpert), and it became something of a mantra for lots of people in the 1970s.
I absolutely connect with this week's theme, “Living in the Present Moment" To me this is Kierkegaard and his existentialism all the way. I studied Kierkegaard in my last year of college and one of the several books I read at the time was "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. I have never forgotten this book because it changed my life. Frankl faced hell and still found purpose. That alone makes me want to listen to what he has to say. His answer to life’s big question is meaning. Not happiness. Not success. But meaning. Living and concurring in the here and now.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the post, Carl. I too was deeply moved by Frankl's book, and to this day I would include it on my personal list of "The Most Influential Books of All Time."
I suppose you could say I lived every day in the past, from 2018 until 2023, plodding through my life. It was a torturous journey, nothing barred nor glossed over, and I was greatly relieved to have it done with. A catharsis. Now, I try to live each day in the "present moment," almost just as my Jack does. There is much to forget and still, much to look forward to, but, as all the sages say, all we have is today. There are some good things about being old: recognizing entertainers from the past. I knew Mel Brooks right away!
Thanks for sharing your story, Pat. It's never too late to learn the importance of living in the present. Even though I knew almost everyone would recognize Brooks, I decided to feature him because of his 99th birthday!
A few come to mind, like a brain coming from a person named “Abby Normal” in “Young Frankenstein” or “Pizza the Hutt” (playing off "Jabba the Hutt" in “Spaceballs.” In "History of the World, Part I," Harvey Korman plays an aristocratic character named Count de Monet. He eventually gets upset when peasants mispronounce it “Count Da Money.”
I just remembered another one....I think it was from Blazing Saddles... Don't recall who said it....Mel and Harvey Korman, perhaps.... someone said 'Surely you jest'.... the response was 'Don't call me Shirley'......... Thanks for making me laugh today. Took my mind off of the 'news'...
Ok. I stand corrected. Those are quite good. I had a friend recently who insisted on being 'Punny' constantly...I asked him to stop because I was afraid that my eyes wouldn't 'unroll' and I was groaning all the time. I found those puns quite tedious. Mel Brooks, however, was more clever. And 'Abby Normal' is one of my favorites...
It's a pleasure to read this newsletter this week. Not only is it filled with the wisdom gleaned from millennia of quotations but it is leavened with the wisdom gained by decades of psychology study and practice. And we get another dose of this tantalizing, blended elixir every week.
I appreciate your very kind words, John. Thanks for writing to share them.
Good morning....just 7AM here....woke up to the worst news... I'm taking your advice and trying to live in this moment, not yesterday or even 5 minutes from now. Trying NOT to think. Mardy, it's uncanny the timing of your newsletter topics.... Thanks for reminding me to 'be here now'... Stay safe everyone. PS Mel Brooks is one of my favorite human beings...thank you.
I agree about Mel Brooks. He was a great husband to Anne Bancroft too.
I think I first became aware of Anne Bancroft, the actress, when she played in The Graduate, as Mrs. Robinson. I was surprised to learn that she was the wife of Mel Brooks. Wouldn't it have been great fun to know them as a couple? How lucky to have been married to a man that could make me laugh as he must have done. His comedy was exceptional and he rarely had to fall back on the 'lowest form of humor' (puns) to achieve his objectives!
They were two very special people, weren't they? And regarding puns, you should know that Brooks loved them.
Yes, a truly special man. And still alive at age 99!
You're right, Arlene, we all woke up to a startling new reality. Nobody knows exactly where all of this is going, so we're all going to have to take a few deep breaths.
gotta share an experience in a psyche course in the late 1960's. First day of class, sitting in a circle, probably 30 students. Instructor said something about 'living in the moment'. On one wall was an assortment of paper, scissors, etc. He told us to use the materials to make a design showing how we 'are at this moment'. Well, I jumped up, got my paper, along w/ some red paper, cut out some red lips, shaped in a smile, glued it on, sat down. I then noticed EVERYONE intensely working working working... I couldn't see what exactly they were doing but I began getting more & more nervous. Finally everyone sat down, the instructor had the person next to me start describing the "in the moment", going around the room, away from me, leaving me till last. EVERYONE had designed elaborate lifetime mosaics of how their lives were, how they reached the point at which they were, etc., etc... It came to my turn, I held up my "smile" & said "this was where I was when I sat down" then I flipped it over into a frown & said "this is how I am now"
My other memory is better.... when my first child was born I thought of the times we would go for walks, for example, & I would now see things for the first time as he did, such as an ant on the sidewalk... I wrote my dad (my mom was no longer living) a letter about now experiencing perhaps the first feelings as a parent as he might have...
Both memories are great, dj! Thanks for sharing them.
Many thanks once again Mardy-keep tense!!!!-daily!
Andre-Hubert
Thanks, Andre, my present tense contains no tension today!
Love the DH Lawrence quote ... as we near the beginning of rebuilding our home which was destroyed by fire on 27 February, we hold our past memories dearly in our hearts but look forward to our new home. All the while, we live in the present, still salvaging what remains from the debris before it heads to the landfill, sorting out what it means to have survived the fire along with our five "orange marmalade" clowder of felines. As you note, in a full live we must learn from the past, plan for the future, and live in the present. Thus, the image of Lawrence cutting up oranges to make marmalade. Scrubbing the floor helps, too. :)
Thank you for this marvelous posting.
Thanks so much, David. That Lawrence quote was special, wasn't it? How nice to hear that you're rebuilding your home--and your lives--after your recent nightmare.
Thank you. Hope soon to hear the joyful sound of hammers driving nails home.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. It's a good maxim because it releases what has been and allows what will come to focus and appear. For 14 wonderful years we were fortunate to have lived along side two eager for life dashchunds. I took my cues from them because they constantly lived life in the moment. I miss Stretch and Slinkey because I have to do it all myself now.
Mardy, Sunday mornings are moments I live for and cherish, because you're always in them. I so enjoy it when you kick me in the brain.
Thanks for weighing in on the subject, Mike. Stretch and Slinkey are with you no longer, but they will live forever in your memories. We've spent many Sunday mornings together, and here's hoping we can keep it going long into the future!
Your quote was the most original I have ever heard on the subject (that I know well) of living in the precious present. Well done Mardy! The practice definitely becomes easier as I age.
Thanks, Manisha. I was afraid my creation might go "over the heads" of many people, so I appreciate your comment.
About the past, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NIV), “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”
About the future, Jesus says in Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV), “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ...But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
About the present, one of my favorite quotes is this: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift—that's why it's called the present." (This quote is frequently attributed to various sources, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Bil Keane (creator of The Family Circus), and even Kung Fu Panda, though its exact origin is uncertain.)
Thanks for sharing the biblical passages, Scott. I can always count on you for finding something relevant in scripture. I love that final quote as well. I have a slightly different version of it in my DMDMQ, attributed to "Author Unknown": https://www.drmardy.com/dmdmq/p#present_as_in_time
Nice. I love sharing from Scripture (as you can tell). I've studied it my entire life, and it speaks to virtually all areas of life. Thank you for your grace.
I'm finding it very hard to live in the present moment today. My mind is leaping to the future with fears about how we can ever recover from the damage that the US President has done in the few months of being in office. Crowned by the terrible bombing last night.
But many thanks to you for the reminder to try...
this is not to support T (the news caught me totally by surprise!! We're traveling, w/ all my sons, to a different location from all of us, w/ my 6 grandkids, which to me, adds a degree of 'discomfort' which really isn't the correct word) is letter is, imo, saying things that many in the US aren't aware of...
https://open.substack.com/pub/persuasion1/p/a-letter-from-an-iranian?r=biua7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Thank you for sending this...very interesting...there are so many layers to the issues.
So many, many layers - absolutely, like 1) the driver in front of me (an hour ago) who had his directional blinker on for 1/2 a mile, or 2) a theme that I keep in my phone "Anxiety is not truth." "Truth" is now, but that's not to forget to plan ahead - but start your planning NOW. I long, long ago espoused the theme: Do it; do it right; do it right now.
And, as I noted in one of your prior columns, Is now too soon?
Well said, Lon, very well said, indeed!
I understand completely, Barbara. As Thomas Paine wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."
Whoa ... I love your discussion of human ruminators and the distinction between ruminations and reflective thinking or introspection. Thank you, once again, for enriching my day. (Somedays my wheels keep spinning! :) )
Thanks, Roger. I've always loved the word "rumination" and was delighted to finally find a place to use it! Happy to hear the piece stimulated your thinking.
I was listening to an interview on the radio of a woman who had lived a remarkable life. She had gone sky diving for the first time on her 95th birthday, which had prompted the interview. To close the discussion the interviewer asked her what message she wanted to leave for the radio audience. Without so much as a pause she said, "Be here now."
Thanks for sharing that great story, Jack. "Be Here Now" was the title of a 1971 book by Ram Dass (formerly Richard Alpert), and it became something of a mantra for lots of people in the 1970s.
I absolutely connect with this week's theme, “Living in the Present Moment" To me this is Kierkegaard and his existentialism all the way. I studied Kierkegaard in my last year of college and one of the several books I read at the time was "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. I have never forgotten this book because it changed my life. Frankl faced hell and still found purpose. That alone makes me want to listen to what he has to say. His answer to life’s big question is meaning. Not happiness. Not success. But meaning. Living and concurring in the here and now.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the post, Carl. I too was deeply moved by Frankl's book, and to this day I would include it on my personal list of "The Most Influential Books of All Time."
I suppose you could say I lived every day in the past, from 2018 until 2023, plodding through my life. It was a torturous journey, nothing barred nor glossed over, and I was greatly relieved to have it done with. A catharsis. Now, I try to live each day in the "present moment," almost just as my Jack does. There is much to forget and still, much to look forward to, but, as all the sages say, all we have is today. There are some good things about being old: recognizing entertainers from the past. I knew Mel Brooks right away!
Thanks for sharing your story, Pat. It's never too late to learn the importance of living in the present. Even though I knew almost everyone would recognize Brooks, I decided to feature him because of his 99th birthday!
Can you give me an example of Brooks' punny humor please?
A few come to mind, like a brain coming from a person named “Abby Normal” in “Young Frankenstein” or “Pizza the Hutt” (playing off "Jabba the Hutt" in “Spaceballs.” In "History of the World, Part I," Harvey Korman plays an aristocratic character named Count de Monet. He eventually gets upset when peasants mispronounce it “Count Da Money.”
I just remembered another one....I think it was from Blazing Saddles... Don't recall who said it....Mel and Harvey Korman, perhaps.... someone said 'Surely you jest'.... the response was 'Don't call me Shirley'......... Thanks for making me laugh today. Took my mind off of the 'news'...
I believe that clever bit of dialog came from the 1980 comedy classic "Airplane," where the punchline is delivered by Leslie Nielsen.
Ok. I stand corrected. Those are quite good. I had a friend recently who insisted on being 'Punny' constantly...I asked him to stop because I was afraid that my eyes wouldn't 'unroll' and I was groaning all the time. I found those puns quite tedious. Mel Brooks, however, was more clever. And 'Abby Normal' is one of my favorites...
Yes, very clever!
This reminds me of the last few words of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods: "Now is now. It could never be a long time ago."
Good memory, Julayne. That is a new "now" quote for me--and now happily added to the NOW section of my DMDMQ: https://www.drmardy.com/dmdmq/n#now