Brain Food #459

When the future disappears, the present is all we have left

As the concept of having something to looking forward to has been eradicated, at least in the near future, our only hope remains in creating something meaningful out of every day that passes, in the present.

The Stoics once again pave the path to healthier thinking to counteract the perpetual suffering of living. Stoicism, a philosophical school of thought that became highly relevant and popular in the modern world, provided a simple way to manage the perils of life: do whatever is within your control, be indifferent to what is outside it.

Seneca was one of the great Stoics, and his words are always worth revisiting:

‘I am endeavouring to live every day as if it were a complete life.’

Every day is, indeed, all we have left. What we may be learning now, and hopefully this is not too late, is that life is to be lived in every day that passes, and not reserved for what is yet to come. When the future disappears, the present is all we have left.

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