On Time

You can't change the past, and the future is not yet actual.

These seem like obvious facts, but philosophers often ignore them or, worse, argue that they are not true. But if you believe these facts about time it makes sense of quite a bit about our existence. If you remember that you can't change the past you never spend time feeling guilty, or going over and over something you did and worry how you could have done it differently, or engage in arguments about who did what and when. And if you remember that the future is not actual you will not believe people who confidently tell you there's only one way to invest your money and that there's something wrong with you if you don't do it. There's no fact of the matter about market activity even tomorrow, much less down the track when you're hoping to retire. You can make better and worse guesses, but no one knows for sure.

There are some downsides as well, though. If you live in the thin wedge of the present moment, all the focus is on what you don't have, on what you want in the future. Your life is driven by desire and motivation (the things that push you forward into the next moment), rather than memory, appreciation and gratitude.

Desire and motivation are good, but I've been trying to remember to look back and appreciate my past as well. I don't have a coffee table, but I had a nice coffee table in the past. I don't go to Philorum any more, but it was the center of my life for a wonderful year or so. I don't have a partner now, but I did. No one appreciates my body now as a partner would, but once someone did, and I should remember that and be thankful and that should be enough.