What does "being present" or "being in the now" mean to you?

IN-PERSON MEETING-

Topic: What does "being present" or "being in the now" mean to you?

I still remember of course the horrifying, peculiar, riveting images of the attacks on 9/11. The moment the 2nd plane hit the building and then moments later the realization it was an attack.

There are other moments in life that may have a similar quality, hopefully, more of positive nature also. of course, there are moments of extreme weather events. there are moments like the birth of a child. death of a loved one, perhaps being told your spouse wants a divorce, crash of the stock market, this or that etc.

Is it possible in this moment to perceive life with a vibrance or other quality that is inherently valuable in and of itself?

Or is it possible to "just be" and let life unfold as it is, and does. Why does this often seem so difficult?

Anyway, please come and share your thoughts related to living in "Now" and how you balance (or square) that with preparing for the future, being lost in the past, or lost in whatever other way you might imagine.

Other questions:

What interferes with living in the Now?

What does it take, what capacity, what knowledge, what understanding to perceive what is truly valuable at any moment?

What does it mean when you or someone else refers to "Now"?

And if one believes that there is a time or a place other than "Now" how is that?

Added note related to group and topic:
One emphasis in this group with respect to both Dialogue and Experience is the idea of pointing to Now.

I mean we have many definitions of what Dialogue means, some great thinkers have said this or that. These ideas may be valuable for sure. But what about dialogue in the present moment? What good is it if a teaching on dialogue (even a great teaching) just sets up another aim or goal to be achieved? All goals and aims cause a riff between people unless the present moment human life and relationship remain primary.

With respect to experience, there is what one has experienced in the past (memory, knowledge, the content of consciousness/thought, etc) . we each have and share our knowledge and opinions of this and that.

But what about and what effect does focusing on knowledge and opinion have on our experience in the present moment?

Dialogue and experience can only happen in the moment. In fact I would contend that it is happening in every moment, whether one realizes it or not.

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Standing note to group (and self):
Reminder/note to help keep the dialogue open and flowing in a naturally occurring atmosphere of civility/kindness:

1. Dialogue allows people to have their say within the allotted time period.
2. If a negative reaction to others’ speech or person occurs, that indicates it’s time to look at/ perceive one’s own thought process in addition to actively listening to the other person.
3. There is nothing to stop you from verbalizing your disagreement when it’s your turn to speak, however, it’s equally important to look at one’s own reactive thinking as that helps bring about dialogue.
4. If one remains unaware of the flow of one's own thought process, one inevitably becomes a victim of it playing out the dictates of the mind's conditioning.