A pig appears to be happy while lying down idly in the mud. A tiger looks happy when it is out hunting for an animal. We see many people happy in their laziness. They are using a very small percentage of their capabilities and appear to be quite happy with their lives, like pigs. On the other hand, there are many whose life is like a race, and who are always on a hunting drive like a tiger. They also appear to be quite happy. The pig is happy in the "past". It has learned the habit of lying down idly in the mud from its society, and that's why it feels happy when it lies down idly. We also feel happy when we get the food of our taste, when we feel secure, comfortable, and there is no threat. The tiger is happy for the "future" of getting the tasty meal. Achievements, prizes, awards, results, etc, make people happy. That's why they work hard for that "future".
The happiness of pigs will disappear the moment they are thrown out of their comfort zone, and similarly, the happiness of tigers will disappear if they are not successful at hunting. People living a lazy life are also quite afraid of losing their comforts. Due to laziness, they never work on their capacities; they always remain quite vulnerable, and that fear turns them into "believers". They believe in one or the other form of "God", who will take care of them in difficult situations, some "relationship" that they believe will stand by them in the moments of crisis, some "astrologer" who will tell them nice remedies to get rid of fear and insecurity, or some "belief system" of existence of life beyond death to be assured that is still some scope left for regaining those comforts that they could not enjoy in this life.
The tigers set the targets to achieve something, out of their restlessness to be in the present moment. Every target gives them a kick. After the achievement of one target, there is an emptiness that is very difficult for them to tolerate. That's why they set the next target immediately. Target after target, and life is gone in the process. They are always in the "future" and never in the present moment, and that's why it is quite difficult for them to be in the present moment.
Life exists only in the present moment. We live life when we are fully into the moment. We may observe an artist who is making a painting, for the love of it, fully into the canvas as if he is recreating life on the canvas. We may observe a teacher who teaches for the love of teaching, fully attentive to the questions and expressions of his students, and answers to the questions come quite naturally to him; examples flow out of his experience, because he is fully aware of what's going on in the minds of the students. We may observe a scientist, who is completely aware in the moment, examining some force of nature or some life form, and the observation is amalgamating with whatever he has observed in the past, and that amalgamation is making a beautiful theory that will guide science for years to come. We may observe a fully attentive mother taking care of an infant. Complete awareness in the present moment is there when we are in love with what we do.
If we do the job to get some money so that we can enjoy the weekends or have a heavy bank balance or buy some expensive cars or properties, or become powerful, then we are using the job. We don't use something that we love. Similarly, if we love something or somebody, we don't use that. If we form relationships to ensure that they stand with us in the moments of crisis, we are just using people. We don't love them. If we love people, we won't use them. We love doing something or interacting with somebody when that action or interaction connects to our core. When we feel connected to somebody at our core, we open up, tell our heart out, dare to be completely naked, revealing all our fears, anxieties, and desires. When we connect at the core, taking off all the layers, we grow together. Then there is no laziness of the past or anxiety of the future. We just remain in the present moment and explore. When we connect to some action, we don't do it to get some pleasure or achieve something. We love doing it and enjoy the present moment. It is important that we, as parents, tell our kids the joy of living in the present moment. However, that's not possible unless we experience the same, and therefore our first and foremost duty is to experience the joy of living in the present moment so that we can share that authentic experience with our kids.
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