John Martin Fischer, a leading philosopher of free will and moral responsibility, has written two companion essays exploring the ideas of mindfulness and living in the moment, which are often encapsulated in the phrase: “Be here now.” In the first piece, published by Aeon, Fischer sorts through various theories regarding the “singularity” of the present moment and whether it’s helpful to view the world and our experiences solely through this prism. Readers will also learn how The Flaming Lips and Fleetwood Mac perhaps unwittingly found themselves on different sides of this debate based on the lyrics of some of their biggest hits. In the second, Fischer writes for The Blog of the American Philosophical Association that the idea of “Be here now” can, and perhaps should, be reoriented when confronting a present moment filled with suffering, such as a 15-month global pandemic that has claimed more than 3.7 million lives around the world.