Bonus Book: The Precious Present

Every once in a while you read a story that just warms the center of your heart, this one should do that for each person who reads it.  Sometimes lessons that are taught take a long time to sink in, and some lessons can be learned by reading a very short book. So it goes with Spencer Johnson’s The Precious Present.  This was a favorite book of a former staff member at NYU and served as the basis of my keynote for Sunday’s NRHH induction ceremony.  The short story follows the life of a young boy who is engaged in a conversation with an older man who talks about his hopes for the boy to receive the “precious present.”  The boy asks when he will get the “gift” and is it something he will get wrapped or in a box?   "No," the man quietly replied.   "When you have the precious present, you will be perfectly content to be where you are."  The boy spends years wishing and hoping for the present as he gets older and older until he confronts the old man and here is what the old man shares: “THE PRESENT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WISHING. . . WHEN YOU HAVE THE PRESENT YOU WILL BE PERFECTLY CONTENT TO BE WHERE YOU ARE. . . THE RICHNESS OF THE PRESENT COMES FROM ITS OWN SOURCE. . . THE PRESENT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE GIVES YOU. . . IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU GIVE TO YOURSELF. . . .”  The boy is overjoyed when he finally understands, but then wonders aloud why hasn’t he ever allowed himself to live in the precious present. As he learns, "The present is simply who I am, just the way I am, right now.  And it is precious.  I am precious.  I am the Precious Present."  Ah… so often we look at our futures and forget to really and truly enjoy our current situation.  Now is the precious moment that we are living.  We do not know what tomorrow brings, but if we allow ourselves to be thankful and take in this second, we really can begin to enjoy this moment in life.  Amazing to me how few students in the room ever heard of this very simple lesson and story of Johnson.  Add this 15 minute read to your collection at least once a year if not more to experience The Precious Present.  Enjoy!