WHY "NOW?"

We emphasize living in the present moment rather than, as we are prone to do, in the past or in the future.  But why is this so important?  When our attention is focused on the present moment, on "now," it is not all out and around but inward, and inward is the gateway to God, or to what Eckhart Tolle calls Presence.  It could just as well be called Buddha Nature, that is, "the uncreated and indestructible essence (svabhava) or 'true Self' of all beings."  In Vedanta it is Atman/Brahman.  Christians refer to it as the kingdom of God, "The kingdom of God is within you," Luke 17:21.  It is living where life actually is and what life actually is.