“Laetus in praesens” (joy in the present)
Stop for a few minutes and open to the joy of doing something pleasant, or if this is not possible simply imagine something that gives you joy, regardless of what happens outside in your world.
Stop for a moment from your incessant activities, obligations, duties, ambitions.
Acknowledge something you like, without thinking about what will happen in the future, but simply enjoying the pleasure of its presence in the here and now.
Joy in the present is a portal that allows you to know who you are and who we are, rather than what you try to become or achieve so as to enjoy it in the future.
“Laetus in praesens” (joy in the present)
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), an Italian scholar, tutor of Lorenzo de’ Medici, used this motto in his correspondence. He insisted on the vital necessity of the soul to regularly stop from being absorbed into the activities and concerns of the world in order to to dwell in the calm and healing power of the present moment.
Joy in the present includes both the pleasure derived from yoiur happy circumstances of life as well as the pleasure received from your imagination, your memories of past pleasures, even when the present circumstances are unpleasant.
Joy in the present is therefore an act of power in which what matters most is your ability to acknowledge and value the source of pleasure and make it available in any moment.