the id, the ego, & the single misfiring brain cell

I love this line from the early 90's movie Wayne's World. Garth has just finished drooling over a snazzy guitar he wants to have ("It will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.") and Wayne responds with, "Live in the now, man!"

It's a deceptively profound idea, living in the now. Think about it. I'm an American, which means that I've been socialized--from birth, pretty much--to base value on money over other things (to a great degree), and to spent all my time planning for the future instead of simply being present in "the now." 

Also in the early nineties, I worked with the, erm, mentally challenged (or whatever we call them right now). One of my clients was a young woman with lots of special needs, but she was a good kid. She liked to help cook and clean the kitchen. I remember watching her clean the kitchen. She'd carefully rub each plate with soap and water and a sponge until it was perfectly clean, then wrinse it with equal care, then polish it dry before placing it in the cabinet. She moved slowly, but she was fully focused on precisely what she was doing in the moment. It occurred to me then that she had a knack I may never have, an ability to enjoy life that may elude me forever. 

I was just thinking of it today because I pick up Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now from time to time and read a section. (Some of his ideas strike me as silly, but his overall message is a good one.) Today's was this: 

...become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation. 

In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on. Or when you get into your car, after you close the door, pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath. Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: the degree of peace that you feel within.

There it is again. Focus on what you're doing right now, even if it's something so simple as walking up stairs. Or, say, washing dishes. 

Which brings me to this:

 Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

- Zen proverb

Is that what "enlightenment" is, then? Is it really so simple in concept and so near-impossible in reality? 

d