Integrity In Our Relationship With The Present- Consider These Pragmatic Principles To Get There!
“To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”- Thich Nhat Hanh
Nothing perhaps captures more beautifully the essence of living the present moment fully, in harmony with the miracle that it brings.
A lot has been written on the subject of living in the present, and I do not intend repeating it here. Being myself on a journey to master this enlightening life skill, my purpose in writing this is to share insights from personal experience.
Not doing justice to the present means we look for flaws in our present situation and environment. The negative mental factors manifest strongly, while the positive get suppressed. We then fail to enjoy what the present has to offer, and are unable to deploy our abilities fully. Essentially, we find ourselves compromising our integrity with the present, which in turn impacts even the future negatively.
With this as context, I will call this an analysis of “Integrity with the present- the principle of offering fully”.
Reverting to Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote, he calls living in the present a miracle. He further states that the miracle is not to walk on water (citing an impossible action) but to walk on the green earth in the present moment (a very normal activity). Additionally, appreciating the peace and beauty available now is part of the miracle.
When I look at my own life, I realize that I often tended to be involved in tasks with one eye on the future, and the other over my shoulder. I would be thinking about the result of the task, while also carrying an element of circumspection about the environment I was associated with. Therefore, despite attaining reasonable success by world standards in my professional and social life, this state of mind sometimes led me to sub-optimal results on the whole.
Further, after several years in the professional world, I decided to take a sabbatical with the complete awareness that I had reasonably achieved what I had set out to, and had earned this phase when I would also discover a new direction. Yet, during the sabbatical, I could not help but feel occasionally anxious, and sometimes even guilty or resentful of past experiences. As a consequence, I found myself not savoring the phase fully, and also not using it optimally for evolving a new direction.
Integrity with the present requires that we focus on nothing but the present task or situation. Surely, there would be planning, expectations, as also some obstacles that arise along the way. Yet allowing them to distract us from the present will compromise that integrity and disrupt the peace of mind, while impeding the attainment of our objectives.
Drawing from the truth in Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote, I have sought to expound the term “Integrity with the present”, to apply the principle in practical life.
In my experience, integrity with the present is typically characterized by the following aspects, each of which I will discuss here:
(1) Complete awareness of the activity on hand;
(2) Being connected with its purpose, deriving genuine happiness from its larger outcome;
(3) Putting in the best version of ourselves; and
(4) Sustaining an outlook of wisdom along the path
1. Complete awareness of the activity on hand
Whether we are performing the role of a student, a business executive, a sportsperson or any other, it is important to be aware of what it is about. A student studying the theory of relativity in Physics must have a sound background in science and clarity about its broad mechanics. A business executive who is performing a role in say, marketing, needs to be aware of his product and its qualities. Likewise, a tennis player needs to know very well what levels of skill and fitness are necessary to meaningfully compete in the sport. Without awareness and knowledge of these dimensions, the individual would be unable to sustain his effort with integrity. Likewise, mindful awareness of each action is important while carrying out the activity.
2. Being connected with its purpose, deriving genuine happiness
Our ability to sustain complete commitment and integrity with a task is dependent on how strongly we are connected with its purpose. This is weak when for example, we have taken it up because society believes it is nice to do, or as an obligation directed by a parent or a boss. Quoting from personal experience, I can vouch that I could do my best professional work when I relished the challenge and sensed its relationship with a client’s business success. Even as a student, my academic performance was at its best when I knew that the course I was studying for carried credibility in the marketplace and would set me off on a robust career path. Not having such a belief would have diluted the effort.
Additionally, whether in an activity or simply an experience, maintaining integrity with the present is possible if we are happy doing it. This happiness arising is not limited to our interests, but extends to the larger resultant outcome. Continuing the earlier example, as a student, apart from the incentive of being set off on a sound career path, true satisfaction and happiness came from the knowledge that the education would help me support organizations in running and developing viable businesses, and becoming responsible corporate citizens. This ensured that I was aligned to a larger purpose, and could offer fully from the heart.
Furthermore, being grateful for the opportunity contributes to happiness, and bolsters integrity with, and the ability to offer fully in the present. To quote Robert Holden, “The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”
3. Putting in the best version of ourselves
Offering ourselves fully with integrity also requires that we put the best version of ourselves into the activity on hand. The factors discussed above are prerequisites, but thereafter it is about persistence, concentration, and effort while keeping in check, defeatism and trivial pursuits. This is where personal discipline steps in. A compromise on any of these dimensions will diminish the integrity with the present. To illustrate further, as someone who is relatively nascent in his writing journey, I find that I am generally clear about what I want to write, and can connect with its purpose, yet I sometimes falter when it gets down to writing every day or avoiding distractions. As a result, there are occasions when I know I have not put in the best version of myself into the effort, and hence not offered myself fully.
4. Sustaining an outlook of wisdom along the path
The efforts carried out with the highest standards must be complemented by wisdom, without which our integrity with the present and the ability to offer fully will suffer. Wisdom can involve diverse dimensions, some of which are discussed here:
(i) Learning from experience- Despite the greatest efforts, we will not always be successful nor get the expected outcomes. Therefore, learning from the journey becomes important if one has to apply the principle of offering fully, derive happiness from the experience, and persevere with the effort. I used to be a short-tempered person with high expectations of the world in my young days. This led to conflicts during my early professional years and frustration with the results. With experience, I imbibed a more adaptable way of life and a calmer outlook that helped me accept situations and develop a healthier mindset. I also became a more forgiving and open individual, qualities that would help sustain my integrity with the present in the times to come.
(ii) Resilience during adversity and distractions- Adversity and distractions can detract efforts with the best of potential. Wisdom to be resilient ensures that the integrity with the present is sustained. During my professional sabbatical, I engaged with various networks to lay the platform for freelancing projects, and then roles in the social impact space. There were instances when the responses I received were disappointing, which sowed the seeds of self-doubt. During such times, I found that maintaining resilience by tapping on and developing diverse interests, gratefully enjoying family time, and meditating daily helped me in maintaining balance and self-confidence. This also made my journey towards discovering my next purpose more fruitful.
(iii) Being willing to accept consequences, with minimal clinging to the outcome- Whenever a task is taken up, it comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Not only is it important to accept the consequences, but to also ensure that its effects on the mind are not so lasting as to be detrimental. During my years with a large organization, and after spending several years in my core functional area, I decided to shift functionalities. I was keen to experience a new space and give myself a spurt of growth. Although the shift was exciting, it came with its set of unanticipated challenges through new relationships, expectations, and risks. I felt uncomfortable with some of them and realized that it was important to accept the complete consequences of any decision and not simply the pleasant ones. Another important aspect is to not cling to the outcome. Positive outcomes generally leave us craving for more, while unpleasant ones instill aversion, driving fear, anxiety, and doubt. Both craving and aversion are clinging attributes detrimental to integrity with the present since they provide us with a deluded version of reality, and stimulate harmful responses.
“When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing. Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go and live in the moment.”- Anonymous iteration
I will conclude with this quote from Eckhart Tolle- “The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is.” Integrity with the present and offering ourselves fully is something we owe to ourselves in our journey called life. Fully experiencing the moment of reality, giving to it completely while recognizing the happiness it brings with it, and learning from it with wisdom will help shape our lives as miracles to cherish.
