Unlike the prodigal son whose journey to a far country yielded no greener pastures, living in the here and now is the lush meadow of happiness.

If you are like me, you have occasionally looked beyond the mark: “I’ll be happy when…Things will be better tomorrow…I’m grateful, but…”

As a young man I was obsessed with pitching in the big leagues. I spent every summer of my youth throwing a baseball to a target. Along the way, I lost the sheer joy of simply throwing the ball. When I didn’t make the big leagues, I was crestfallen.

There is nothing wrong with worthy goals, but sometimes we miss the joy of living in the moment at the expense of an elusive finish line at the end of an unrealistic rainbow.

Distraction

Distraction is the great joy-killer. If you doubt this, try good conversation with a group of friends and watch the mood change as they scurry for their vibrating cellphones. We seem more enthralled with long-distance vibes than the up-close laughter of present company.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger brother demands, receives and wastes his inheritance on “riotous living” (Luke 15:13). Unable to accept and appreciate his present circumstance, the prodigal ventures from the safety of covenants and family to the fool’s gold glittering in the distant city.

The parable is a lesson in self-estrangement from our Heavenly Father, and the tender mercies of forgiveness extended to penitent sinners rescued from the wanderlust of distraction.

Here and now

The next time you gather around the dinner table or a family home evening, try living in the moment. Don’t worry about the next hour, the next day, or even past hurts and future hurdles. Turn off the cellphones, the iPads, the TV and the temptation to be “entertained” moment to moment. Instead, give full attention to the here and now and present company. You might be surprised what you see, hear, feel and learn.

President Thomas S. Monson has said, “Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future…Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family” (President Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Ensign, Nov. 2008).

I love the poem attributed to Peggy Ball Fugal: “As a rule, man’s a fool; when it’s hot he wants it cool; when it’s cool he wants it hot, always wanting what it’s not, never wanting what he’s got.” Amen, but I wish the hot summer would cool off and…

Be happy where you are. You are here, and it is now.