By Abhey Singh (IIT Baba)
Original Article: 8. Life & Now – Abhey Singh
Why can’t we just sit? Just exist, without the need to do something, be something, prove something? The answer seems simple—“We need money, we need to survive.” But if you are reading this, then surely you have the luxury of time. Time to pause, to reflect, to not do anything.
Yet, we don’t.
We are caught in a game. A game with no defined end, no clear purpose, yet we continue playing. Why? And more importantly—what if this moment, right now, was all there was?
This article is about breaking the illusion of time, of the endless cycle of doing, of expectations that keep us from living now.
1. The Never-Ending Game of Life
“For what are you doing this? To do that? Are we playing a never-ending game? Do we even know the end game?”
Life often feels like a chain of tasks, each leading to another.
- Study to get a job.
- Work to earn money.
- Earn money to buy comfort.
- Buy comfort to feel happy.
- Feel happy so that we can… do what?
The loop never ends. We keep waiting for the “right time,” a moment when everything will be perfect. But that moment never comes, because the game itself is designed to keep moving.
Example:
Imagine climbing a staircase, believing that at the top, you will find happiness. But when you reach what you thought was the last step, you see another flight of stairs. And another. The pursuit never stops, because we never question the staircase itself.
What if the goal is not at the top? What if the goal is to stop climbing and just be?
2. The Fragility of Life: What If This Was Your Last Breath?
“How many do you think have died in the moment you read this?”
Every second, life ends somewhere. Not just human life—plants, animals, cells, entire ecosystems. Everything is constantly changing, shifting, disappearing.
Yet, we live as if we have unlimited time. As if tomorrow is guaranteed.
But what if this was your last moment? How would you live it? Would you be fully present? Would you finally let go of all distractions, all hesitations, and simply exist?
Example:
Imagine someone tells you that you have exactly one minute left to live. Would you waste it worrying? Or would you soak in every detail—the feeling of breath, the colors around you, the sound of silence?
Why wait for the last moment to live fully?
3. The Hesitation That Stops Life
“Why is there hesitation in what one sees, how deeply one sees, what one hears, how one hears?”
We don’t experience life fully because we hesitate.
- We see, but we don’t look deeply.
- We hear, but we don’t truly listen.
- We love, but we hold back.
Why? Because we are afraid—afraid of what we might feel, afraid of what might change, afraid of losing control.
Example:
A child looks at the world with wonder because they have no hesitation. They don’t filter their experience through judgment. They don’t ask, “Is this beautiful?” They just see.
What if we could return to that state? Where every moment is lived without resistance?
4. The Illusion of Time: Waiting for a Better Future
“Why does one pass time? In expectation of a better time. What if this is it?”
We live in constant anticipation of a future that will “fix” everything.
- Once I earn more money, I’ll be happy.
- Once I find love, I’ll be complete.
- Once I achieve success, life will begin.
But the future is a mirage. We never actually reach it, because once we get there, a new goal replaces it.
What if this moment—right now—is all there is?
Example:
Think of someone sitting in a waiting room, believing that their life will begin once they enter the next room. But what if they never enter? What if life was in the waiting itself?
Stop waiting. This is it. This is all you have.
5. The Anxiety of Doing: Trapped in a Machine
“But we live like a machine. Time all sold to different owners. Living in anxiety all times… feeling that something is missing.”
From childhood, we are conditioned to always be doing. Sitting still feels wrong. Not having a “plan” feels like failure. We live with an underlying tension—a constant fidgeting, a restless energy that never stops.
And yet, we wonder why we feel empty. Why we feel like something is missing.
Example:
A worker in a factory moves tirelessly, believing they are building something meaningful. But at the end of their life, they realize they never actually lived—they were just part of a system.
Are you living for yourself, or are you just a moving part in a machine?
6. Breaking Free: Stop Defining Yourself
“Don’t hold yourself in definitions of what should be. The morality taught as right/wrong will bind you in tight knots.”
Society teaches us how to live, what to believe, what is right and wrong. But these are just artificial constructs—rules created to control, not to liberate.
True freedom begins when we stop defining ourselves. When we stop measuring life by external standards. When we realize that the only thing stopping us from truly living… is us.
Example:
A river does not ask, “Am I flowing the right way?” It simply moves, adapting, changing, unrestricted.
What if we could live like that? Without overthinking, without hesitation, without judgment?
7. The Desperate Search to Feel Alive
“We try, right? By sex, by adventures, by drugs… to untie the knots we’ve tied ourselves in. Does it work?”
People try extreme experiences—thrill-seeking, substances, distractions—not because they want pleasure, but because they want to feel something real.
First, we become cold, shutting ourselves off from emotions, living in logic and routine. Then, when we feel empty, we try to force emotion, desperately searching for something to make us feel alive again.
But no external experience can fix an internal problem.
Example:
A person jumps from a plane, feeling a rush of excitement. But once they land, the feeling fades, and they crave another thrill. The cycle repeats. The emptiness remains.
What if the feeling of being alive didn’t come from external highs, but from simply being present?
8. The Only Truth: Life is Now
“Love defined by boundaries is not love. Life bound by time is not life.”
To truly live, we must dissolve boundaries. Boundaries of time, of identity, of expectations.
Love, when confined by rules, is not love. It is control.
Life, when measured by time, is not life. It is survival.
Example:
A flame does not think about burning. It just burns. A bird does not analyze flying. It just flies.
True living is not thinking about life. It is simply living.
Conclusion: Stop Waiting, Start Being
The mind will always create reasons to delay living.
- Not yet, I need more time.
- Not yet, I need more money.
- Not yet, I need more security.
But what if “not yet” never ends?
This moment—right now—is life. It is all there is.
Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. Don’t hold back.
Breathe. Look. Listen. Live.
