This idea you touched on is a powerful one, and one our world seems to be getting further and further away from. There are too many distractions, too many things that keep our minds in the future. Marketing, technology, subversive incentivizing, self-image curating—the list goes on.

This practice of being mindful and present is exactly that, a practice. It takes dedication and discipline; but I do believe, like you, that it is necessary to living what we might call a "good" or happy life.