The present moment can set you free or imprison you

Being in the present means leaving worries behind. But it can also mean losing the desire to improve the situation.

It can distract us out of anxiety or hypnotize us into slavery.

We no doubt need to be in the present moment at times. That's how to enjoy life unfolding in front of you when you spend time with your kid or a loved one or enjoy any activity in a "flow" state.

But the concept of always being "living in the present" seems unrealistic at best and dangerous at worst. We create the future by dreaming about it. And we get pushed to action by suffering the tension between what is and what could be.