The Precious Present

In 1984 I joined Toastmasters International because I was tired of being nervous when giving presentations for my work. Being a member helped me accomplish my goal, but something else happened that changed my life profoundly. A member named Betty gave a different kind of speech. The whole thing was to be read. She used Spencer Johnson’s book, The Precious Present.

The book is about the relationship between an old man and a boy who grows into an adult. The old man tells him about the precious present, but doesn’t explain what it is. When the boy becomes a man he searches for it. After a long and stressful search he realizes for himself that the present is just that, The Present, not the future or the past.

He learns to accept each moment as a gift. That’s why it is a present. Being present is a process that he will have to practice over and over again until it becomes second nature to him. It is important for him to learn from the past and prepare for the future. However, his life happens now and the present moment is the only reality he can ever experience. Maybe the most important thing he learns is that he knows enough, he has enough and is enough, now.

I’ve learned more about being present by reading Eckart Tolle’s books, The Power of Now and A New Earth. Being present has become so important to me that I reread The Precious Present on the first day of each month. It only takes fifteen minutes and is the cornerstone of most of my blog posts. My life goes well then I am present. It doesn’t when I am not. It’s just that simple.

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.