live in the present...

As I was doing my daily reading of blogs today, I came across this 'morsel of goodness' from a dear friends blog.  It's so great that I wanted to share:

"If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And if you improve on the present-what comes later will also be better." 

-The Alchemist 

I believe this. So why can't the present be the best? Regardless of what kind of crap life is dealing us.  Because it's what we know. he future does not belong to us. We are not guaranteed it. The secrets of life are found in the present. We usually just ignore them cause we are always looking ahead for the next big thing, for the upcoming year to start, for something better to land in our lap.

So,  is your 'crap' worth feeling and acting in a way that it completely effects the rest of your life in the present?