Personally, my take is that happiness is integral to the human animal. Happiness is not something that can be acquired, achieved, or even in contrast, lost. It is our thoughts about any situation or event, that when believed, lure us into an illusory state that we call unhappiness.
A person can quickly forget their unhappiness, even if for just a moment, and be free of it. It does not exist outside of our thoughts.
To live in the moment does not mean that the past has no meaning, it is only the prompt of nature encouraging us to be alive and aware of the existing moment.
Every day brings the opportunity to experience the moment at hand, to be fully alive now. There is no need to associate living with activity, or to reach into the past and the future for guidance. Today is always a new day with new experiences that cannot be fully understood or appreciated if you are not fully there but instead are seeking continuation of a past moment or development of a future expectation.
There is no foundation that exists for the present moment. It stands alone, free of the illusions stored in memory, free of past actions and future desires, it remains untouchable. We mindfully and willingly incorporate the past and future into the present moment which taints its pureness and efficacy.
Those who can extrude the past and future elements from the present moment through awareness understand how to live in the moment. The memories remain, but the present moment is not influenced by their presence.
