Motherhood has taught me the meaning of living in the moment and

Hear, O seeker of life’s quiet wisdom, the tender words of Jessalyn Gilsig: “Motherhood has taught me the meaning of living in the moment and being at peace. Children don't think about yesterday, and they don't think about tomorrow. They just exist in the moment.” These words carry the fragrance of both innocence and truth, a reminder that the deepest lessons are not always taught by sages in temples, but by children at play. For in their laughter, in their tears, in their unguarded presence, children embody what it means to live fully and freely, unchained from the burdens of regret or fear.

The origin of this wisdom rests in the transformation that motherhood brings. A mother, in her ceaseless giving, her sleepless nights, her vigilant watch over her child, learns to let go of the illusions of control. She discovers that life is not mastered in the planning of tomorrow nor in the grieving of yesterday, but in the miracle of each heartbeat, each breath, each fleeting moment of presence. Thus, motherhood becomes not only a calling of love, but a school of peace—a place where the eternal secret of living in the moment is revealed anew.

The ancients too proclaimed this truth. The Stoics taught that man suffers not from what has passed or what is to come, but from the mind’s restless wandering into those realms. The Buddha, centuries before, taught that enlightenment is found in mindfulness, in dwelling wholly in the present. And even Christ, speaking to anxious hearts, declared: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” What Jessalyn Gilsig expresses through the voice of motherhood is this same ancient truth: to live in the present is to find peace.

History gives us moving examples. Consider Anne Frank, a child in the midst of unspeakable darkness. In her diary, she did not dwell only on the terror of yesterday nor the uncertainty of tomorrow, but captured moments of beauty—the sound of birds, the glimpse of sunlight through the window, the kindness in small gestures. Even surrounded by fear, she lived as children do: in the moment, finding peace in what was present before her eyes. Her words endure because they reveal what Gilsig has said—children live without the weight of past and future, and in this lies their strength.

Yet, O listener, how easily adults forget this lesson. We fill our days with worries of what has been and anxieties of what may come. We replay mistakes of yesterday until they chain us, and we chase the shadow of tomorrow until it exhausts us. In this way, we lose the gift of now—the only place where life truly exists. Children, by contrast, live as if each moment is a treasure chest opened for the first time. Their peace is not a philosophy but a way of being, unburdened and whole.

The lesson is clear: to find peace, you must reclaim the childlike gift of presence. This does not mean to neglect wisdom or responsibility, but to remember that life’s truest joys are always experienced now. To eat with gratitude, to listen without distraction, to watch the sun set without rushing to the next task—this is to live as children do, and in doing so, to rediscover the meaning of life.

Practical wisdom flows from this. When you rise each morning, give thanks for the breath in your lungs. When you work, work with focus; when you rest, rest fully. When you are with loved ones, do not let your mind wander to tomorrow’s duties or yesterday’s mistakes—be with them wholly, as children are. Practice silence, notice beauty, delight in small things. In this way, the moment will no longer slip away unnoticed, but become the ground of peace upon which your soul stands firm.

So remember the words of Jessalyn Gilsig: children live in the moment, and motherhood teaches the same truth. Take this wisdom into your heart. For though years and responsibilities weigh upon us, the path to peace has never changed—it is found not in yesterday, nor in tomorrow, but here, in this very breath, in this very heartbeat, in this eternal now.