Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.
–Epictetus

True happiness is a verb. It’s the ongoing dynamic performance of worthy deeds. The flourishing life, whose foundation is virtuous intention, is something we continually improvise, and in doing so our souls mature. Our life has usefulness to ourselves and to the people we touch.
– Sharon Lebell, translating and adapting Epictetus, in her book “The Art of Living: The Classical Manual On Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness”

“Forget everything else. Keep hold of this alone and remember it. Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see.”
–Marcus Aurelius, from Meditations, as translated by Gregory Hays

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I really like these 3 quotes – the way they fit together. The Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius quotes, in particular, are so similar, yet they approach the “Now is the only moment” philosophy from different angles. Heaven knows I’m no philosophy expert. I like the pairing of the three, though, and I’m not exactly sure why.

Maybe it’s because of Lebell’s final sentence “Our life has usefulness to ourselves and the people we touch.” That sentence rings out, for me, and connects in a way that makes me hope I can make that true. If we approach life as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius suggest – and embrace each moment as vital, and maybe all we get – then making those connections with the people around us, each moment, is key to living well, right? Practicing an “ongoing dynamic performance of worthy deeds”, as Lebell says, while taking care and effort to “caretake this moment” feels like a wonderful mix of how to try and tackle every day. Lord knows, it’s not an easy task by any stretch. I mean, on days when the bills are due and there are too many emails unanswered in the inbox, and you’ve had to skip lunch and really just need a nap, it’s hard to embrace a “feel good about NOW” mindset…

But then again, that’s probably when I most need to.