This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

In 1974, the singer Harry Chapin hit number one

on the Billboard charts with a song about loss and love.

It told the story of a dad who misses his son's first steps and other milestones.

Games of catch get postponed as the dad finds himself distracted by work and various commitments.

Before he knows it, the son's entire childhood was a spy.

The song Cats in the Cradle was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. In a few memorable verses it told the story of a life

where your choices come full circle. When the dad now retired reaches out to his

son and asked to spend some time with him, the grown

kid now says, I'd love to dad if I can find the time. The enduring popularity of stories and songs like Cats in the Cradle

reflects a sad truth. We often take the most meaningful parts of our lives for

granted only to realize what we have

lost after it's too late.

Many philosophical and spiritual traditions counsel people to express gratitude

for the good things in their lives and to engage fully with the present. So why does so

many of us have trouble slowing down and savoring life.

This week on Hidden Brain, we begin a two-part series about why it's so hard to stop and notice

what is wonderful about our lives and powerful psychological techniques to help us master this art. Life is what happens when you're busy making other plants.

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plants.

It's a quote widely attributed to John Lennon, but the origins of this idea predate the Beatles by centuries.

At Loyola University Chicago, psychologist Fred Bryant studies this universal human conundrum and what we can do about it.

Fred Bryant, welcome to Hidden Brain.

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