Richard Alpert was a Harvard psychologist who went to India in 1967. His experience there was more than just a vacation… it was a transformation. Alpert became a student of a guru who gifted him with a new name: Ram Dass.
As Ram Dass, he went on to become a spiritual teacher and a major influence on the world… mostly thanks to his suggestion that we all Be Here Now. Those three simple words became a book and a life philosophy: focus on here, live in the now, notice the world around you in every moment.
If only Ram Dass could be here now with me on my nightly walks through the neighbourhood.
Together, we’d see folks of every age and description out in the cool night air… walking past the birds in the trees, the frogs in the bulrushes, the golden sun setting low in the purple night sky… focusing all their attention on… their hand.
They text, they Facebook, they Instagram, they tweet. And as they walk with their eyes cast down, they miss the beauty of the world and the chance to connect with the human beings around them.
They’re blissfully unaware. Their attention has been hijacked from now for the sake of profits and shareholders at corporate giants like Apple and Google and Twitter.
They’re missing the moment. They’re missing in action. And we are allowing it.
You know, we’re finally woke to Black Lives Matter and #MeToo in 2020. Maybe it’s time for us to be woke to this issue as well… this #CrazyLittleThingCalledNow.
I think Ram Dass would be proud.
