In the Now

I recently read The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. It is a good book. I don’t want to say too much about it because it’s probably a better read if you know nothing about it going in.

One of the many themes in the book is the human struggle to “live for the now” or embrace the present instead of always thinking about the future.

This seems like a difficult task to me in two ways. The first is the way in which we think and interact and the second is how we embrace/appreciate things.

Thinking and Interacting

If you think about conversations you might have on a day-to-day basis or when you meet people you haven’t seen in a while, they are typically about the future.

“What do you want to do with your life?”

“I can’t wait for my vacation in 3 months.”

“You got promoted? What are you going to do next?”

“The weather is supposed to be great tomorrow.”

“I didn’t like that new Lil Wayne CD, but Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 is gonna be sick.”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

"I need some space. We will talk later."

In addition, human temperaments are mercurial (I don’t know if I used that word correctly but I think it looks cool). Our minds can shift from subject to subject and from the now into the future on a whim.

Appreciation

People often do not appreciate other people or things until they can no longer be with them or have them.

I admit I knew next to nothing about Ted Kennedy before he passed away, but I have learned about his fascinating life in the past few days. When I see people writing about him all over the Internet and praising him, I have to wonder why this didn’t happen when he was alive. Did those same people contact him when he was alive and tell him how much they appreciated him? I’m not trying to criticize because that would make me a hypocrite, but I’m just pointing out that it doesn’t seem like things work that way.

I can think of many other examples of this type of situation with celebrities, but it is also apparent in normal relationships we have with other people – either when a relationship is broken off (although I guess Kelly Clarkson didn’t think so judging by the lyrics in “Since U Been Gone”) or if someone close to us passes away.

What Now?

My understanding of the argument in The Screwtape Letters and in Christianity in general (please correct me if I am wrong) is that we must embrace the now in order to be a true Christian. We must realize that we are in God’s Kingdom right now and God is good. Everything around us is good. We should be happy with it. God created the world and us and is making all of our thoughts and actions possible. I couldn’t be writing this without Him. Nothing could be happening without Him and we should be infinitely thankful for it, no matter what happens.

The problem I have is that even if I believe in God and want to thank God with all of my heart, I have no idea how to do it. Should I run around saying “I love you, God” repetitively? Should I spread the word of God to others and try to convert them? Should I go to church for 1/168 of my time during a week and make hand gestures and repeat words, and then forget about Him for the rest of the week? How much should I be praying? What should I be praying about? What should my day-to-day activities be? What is the proper way of thanking God? What happens if I don’t believe in God 100%? How often should I repent for my sins? Am I sure I know what God thinks is a sin? Have I sinned too much?

In our minds (maybe not in God’s mind), humans are imperfect. It seems like we are programmed to do things we believe we shouldn’t have done and to want things we can never have. Maybe there is some leeway in how much time we should be thinking about the now and God, but I don’t know.

What are your thoughts on how much time you should be devoting to God and religion? Do you 100% believe in your religion or are you unsure? Do you have any techniques that help you think about the present more than the future? Do you think that thinking about the present makes sense, or do you want to think about the future?