I remember reading a fable/myth/koan about a man who was being chased by a ferocious tiger. To escape, he jumped off a cliff and grabbed onto some branches to break his fall.
As he did this he noticed three things: there were ripe strawberries in abundance on the tree that he was holding. He also noticed that the roots of this tree were giving away and it would only be moments before he would lose this foothold. The third thing he noticed was that there was an equally ferocious tiger at the bottom of the cliff, waiting for his fall.
The man, in spite of this, and completely mesmerized by the strawberries, slowly reached out and started to eat them, oblivious to all else.
I can't think of a more apt story to convey the power of Now!