How do you make yourself stay in the present when your mind absolutely wants you not to?
I mean the most I've been able to be in the present is when I've not worried about being in the present.
To be in the present is one of the most cliched things ever. I mean everyone sort of just keeps spouting it like some sacred hymn. But if anything has ruined my ability to be in the present, it is the very advice that preaches it.
Whenever I am sitting somewhere comfortably enjoying the flow of life, suddenly my cursed personal jukebox starts playing the 'be in the present' mantra and suddenly a lot of performance pressure is just stacked up on my already loaded up conscience.
There is also a very emotional aspect of being in the present. It's not just 'be here', it's that you're suddenly reminded of the ephemerality of life and now you need to savor every fucking moment with that person or in that place or of that particular day because what if I just ceased to exist tomorrow?
So how does one even live in the present without shitting on the present?