It's raining Zen

Goodness, today has been a struggle. But I gained confidence from some Zen stories that I found online. Here are three that particularly resonated with me.

'A Japanese warrior was captured by his enemies and thrown into prison. That night he was unable to sleep because he feared that the next day he would be interrogated, tortured, and executed. Then the words of his Zen master came to him, "Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The only reality is now." Heeding these words, the warrior became peaceful and fell asleep.'
I absolutely struggle to live in the present. So that's the goal - now I need to achieve it. Any ideas on this gratefully received. I think meditation might help but that's quite difficult. Some sort of quick fix, the SlimFast shake equivalent of actual meditation perhaps, would be great. Sadly, I don't think flippancy will get me anywhere. But there must be other options: I can't believe that everyone who's at peace with themselves actually meditates on a regular basis. Alternatives sought.

'Upon meeting a Zen master at a social event, a psychiatrist decided to ask him a question that had been on his mind. "Exactly how do you help people?" he inquired.
"I get them where they can't ask any more questions," the Master answered.'
I took this story to mean that we should all be working towards a point where we have no more questions - not because we understand everything but because, sometimes, we are content not to know or ask. Given that all I do is ask questions and want to know absolutely everything, I think becoming more content with what I know and don't know is fairly key. Again, breaking the habit might be tough.

'A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!"
"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly. '
As it said on the website, change is the only constant. The only thing on which you can rely is that nothing will stay the same. All the more reason to enjoy each moment and not spend too much time planning for the future. Easier said than done, once again, but that's no reason not to try. Wish me luck.