I read a book this week–not about living in the present but mnemonics, the art of remembering–and in that book I came across the story of one of the most unique human studies in history.
Proof of the blessing of the present
The subject, referred to only by his initials, EP, contracted a virus when he was younger that ate away part of his brain, specifically the part that enabled him to retain memories and imagine the future. Not only could he not remember the past, he couldn’t remember what happened ten minutes ago.
Author, Joshua Foer, writes:
Trapped in this limbo of an eternal present, between a past he can’t remember and a future he can’t contemplate, he lives a sedentary life, completely free from worry. “He’s happy all the time. Very happy. I guess it’s because he doesn’t have any stress in his life,” says his daughter Carol, who lives nearby.
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (pp. 74-75)
For EP, there was only the present, and in the present there was only the experience of the now, unchained from the baggage of the past and unburdened by worries about the future. What’s not to be happy about? “He’s happy all the time. Very happy.“
Unchained from the past
It makes sense. EP couldn’t remember the past, so there was no chance he helds any bitterness or unforgiveness. How can you be bitter when you can’t remember who has done you wrong, or even that you have been wronged?
We are not so unfortunate as to have no memory. Thus, our memory pesters us about past wrongs and slights, demanding to be acknowledged and given emotional attention, like a child who keeps tugging at our our sleeve demanding to be heard. We have to make the conscious decision not to yield to its demands, and often–too often–we give in and listen, and indulge, and give life to the memories that enslave us.
None of this had any power over EP because in his world it did not exist.
Unburdened by anxiety about the future
And there was no anxiety for EP, no worry, because there was no contemplation of the future. It’s always the future that gives rise to worry. We worry about the things that might happen though we may never experience any of them.
While the past creates different emotional challenges, it does not cause worry. We don’t worry about what we have already experienced. We don’t worry about the trip to the dentist in the past for the root canal because it is done; we worry about the upcoming doctor’s appointment.
The future for EP did not exist, at least not for his consideration. The future for EP was confronted only when it folded into the present.
We are not so unfortunate as to have no imagination. We are constantly confronted with what might happen. Facing the possibilities of the future, we must decide not to remain there. We must return to the present because that is where there is peace, and happiness, and Jesus.
What Jesus taught about living in the present
I suspect this is what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 6:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
Matthew 6:25–26 (NASB)
If there had been an EP in first century Israel, Jesus could have pointed to him as an example. Instead, Jesus directs us to the example of the birds to persuade us that much of what we worry about will never come to pass, and therefore not worthy of our worry.
Jesus also warned against the graver danger of living in the past:
“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
Matthew 5:23–24 (NASB)
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62 (NASB)
It’s easy to see why EP could be happy in the present, but at what cost? The price for his bliss included the loss of the good memories, the remembrance of the joys of the past we experience we revisit time and time again in the future.
So, Jesus teaches us to live in the present by dissuading us of the danger of living in the past and by warning of the emotional cost of concern about the future. It is great advice; and it is confirmed by the example of the man who could have no chains to the past and no concern for the future. GS
