“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Lao Tzu locates peace exclusively in present-moment awareness.
Sometimes, life feels like a heavy tug-of-war between two different worlds. On one side, we are anchored to the past, replaying old mistakes or longing for days that have already slipped through our fingers. On the other side, we are pulled forward by the future, racing toward worries and 'what-ifs' that haven't even happened yet. Lao Tzu’s beautiful words remind us that true peace isn't found in those two extremes, but in the quiet, steady center of the present moment. It is a gentle invitation to stop running and simply arrive exactly where we are.
We see this struggle in the smallest parts of our daily routines. I remember a morning when I was sitting by the pond, watching the sunlight dance on the water. My mind was a chaotic mess; I was mourning a friendship that had faded years ago, and simultaneously, I was panicking about a deadline for a project due next week. I was physically sitting by the pond, but mentally, I was miles away, lost in shadows and ghosts. I wasn't actually experiencing the warmth of the sun or the cool breeze on my feathers. I was missing my own life because I wasn't actually inhabitng it.
It took a moment of deep, intentional breathing to realize that the only place where life is actually happening is right here, right now. When I finally stopped the mental time travel, I noticed the rhythmic sound of the water and the smell of damp earth. The past couldn't hurt me in that moment, and the future couldn't threaten me. There was just the breath, the light, and the stillness. This is what it means to find peace. It is the realization that the present is the only place where we have the power to act, to feel, and to truly exist.
As you go through your day, I want to encourage you to check in with yourself. When you feel that familiar tightness of anxiety or the heavy ache of regret, gently ask yourself where your mind is traveling. Are you visiting a time that no longer exists? Are you wandering into a future that hasn't arrived? If so, take a deep breath and bring yourself back to the sensation of your feet on the ground or the air in your lungs. You deserve to experience the beauty of your own present moment.