Jimmy Buffett’s ballad “Breathe in, Breathe Out, Move on” (affiliate link) starts with him purchasing a watch from a crazy man. The watch always told the correct time because there were no numbers on its face, just the word “Now.” How this never became a product, I have no idea. There are watches that feature the word “now,” but they also have moving hands, which would defeat the purpose of Jimmy Buffett’s watch.

All We Have Is Now

Americans have a misconception of time. We act like it’s a resource; it’s something we can save and spend. Those aren’t exactly true. You can’t save time; it moves inexorably forward. Whatever you’re doing in the moment is soon past and that moment will never return. All we have is now, and if we can figure out how to live there, we will be less stressed and feel happier.

There Are Problems

While the song gives us the answer to living a better life, it also tells us how to cope with problems. The rain is going to come. We need to be able to breathe in, breathe out, and move on, especially if the problem is trivial like a broken watch. The atmosphere of the song tells you that Buffett isn’t taking the destruction of the hurricane lightly; he’s just acknowledging his inability to do anything about it. All he can do is move on, whatever that means in this context, and sometimes, that’s all you can do. This is one of the songs Jimmy Buffett sang with Caroline Jones (affiliate link) at a hurricane relief concert in 2017.

Creativity and the Flow

Creative activities can help you achieve living in the moment. When you enter the flow state, you’ll realize your humanity. Time will become an artificial imposition put in place by schedules, jobs, and society. For more on creativity, join our Patreon, follow this blog, and pick up one of my books: “Disneyland Is Creativity,” “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity,” and “Penguinate! Positive Creativity.”