Now and Then

The future ain't what it used to be.

— Yogi Berra

Every day I read about a retiree who say she's never been happier.

I'm glad I can say the same.

The reason why occurred to me just this week: I have lost a whole dimension of time: the future.

My career, I see now, always forced me, at the cost of the present, to focus on the future: on plans, budgets, deadlines, pitfalls, and potential catastrophes; on this afternoon's call, tomorrow's meeting, next week's presentation, next month's earnings, next year's trends.

Today I pretty much ignore the future. 

Now I live in the now—and then.

Now I fill my time with projects that absorb all my attention, and pastimes that fling me backwards in time, into mankind's, or my own, history.

Sure, I keep a calendar and a to-do list, but they don't exert much influence. What's in store holds little sway over me any more.

In fact, having lived mostly in the future, I now see it's vastly overrated.

Above: Head III by Francis Bacon.