Now

I have, in the past, waited until finishing a book to write about it. But why put off to the future something I can do now?

And that's the point. Or the result of the point.

The book is The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. I believe I briefly mentioned it in my last rambling post. I also talked about my dislike of time a while back, but I was a little fuzzy in my reasons for it- what I've read so far explains my own opinions to myself very nicely. Basically, time is the source of all unhappiness- as manifested in living in the past or future (through regret et al. and anxiety et al., respectively) instead of the present. And even if your living in the past or future is not characterized negatively, you're still missing the now, when your life actually happens. Any problems that you may be worrying about (that is, to be focused on the future) are suffering that you create for yourself. There are no problems, only situations that you deal with now, accepting them and then addressing them if necessary (if even possible). With the joy and peace that comes with living in the moment, violence is not possible- a nice side effect for a pacifist. We identify ourselves largely with labels that we create and maintain (as I have talked about before). We cling to these labels because we associate them with our existence. They are only in existence because of a constant connection to the past. Living in the now threatens the existence of these labels, and therefore, our perceived existence. We cling to our lives, not wanting to die. But if we let those labels go, we'd find that there is no death, except to those labels that are not you. When you live in the moment, anything fake about you must pass away and you are left with the reality of your self, your being.

Just some thoughts that struck me so far. More inevitably to come.