I don't fear the future. I'm old enough to know that in the end, things have a way of working out.
I do have great concerns about the present; everything from modern parenting trends to mental illness running rampant in our society, to geopolitics to everything; everyone is, 'Gah!', and conflicted about at present. We live in interesting times. I know the human heart, mind, and spirit can transcend it all though, and that basically people are decent, when they are away from static, phones, and pharmaceuticals and can hear the quiet of their own minds and true natures. I do have hope.
Thank you for your posts. Make them as frequent or infrequent as you like. A little goes a long way, and words of inspiration are never a waste of time. We all have both a shared experience and an individual one, and joining them is the ultimate challenge. I still honestly think love will prevail, however it comes about.
Justine, I really enjoyed this thoughtful exploration of our relationship with the future – how our perspective shifts from childhood excitement to adult wariness resonated deeply.
What struck me most was your insight about equilibrium, about how we’re constantly seeking a state of rest or balance. From a perspective I’ve found helpful – and which I’ve tried to share at times, albeit clunkily, in Film Club – this search for equilibrium might actually point to something even deeper than our relationship with time.
Perhaps what we’re truly seeking isn’t a particular future state at all, but rather something already and always present in every moment – that sense of peace and completeness we occasionally glimpse regardless of circumstances.
In fact, what if “past” and “future” – as I think we talked about during a Tarkovsky discussion –were just concepts we only ever experienced NOW, the only moment there ever is?
I wonder how our relationship with “the future” might transform if we recognized that our experience always unfolds in the present moment. The anticipation, fear, or excitement about tomorrow exists only as thoughts appearing now, in the awareness we already are.
In light of that, your invitation to reclaim that childlike “anything could happen today” perspective is particularly beautiful. What if that openness isn’t just about embracing the unknown future, but also about recognizing the infinite possibilities inherent in the eternal present moment?
Thanks for that way you have of sparking opportunities to think more deeply!
Love your insights here, particularly about prior generations being capable of longer-term, solid Vision and Building. This requires Patience and Fortitude (like the names of the two lions on the steps of the New York Public Library!), two qualities being beaten out of the general public via greed, tech, and opportunism etc. But folks like you, and many of us, retain and nourish these qualities, as well as Critical Thinking, Courage, and Embodiment. Thank you.
As a kid I went camping for a week in the Sierra Nevada thru a school program. I was 12. Just 15 or so kids and 2 adult teachers alone for a week in the wilderness. Absolutely alone. Bus should be back in a week. No means of outside contact. That was OK in 1974 California.
I learned from this that snow can persist at those elevations in shady spots well into late spring. Miners lettuce was tasty. Smores were awesome. Latrines must be dug well away from streams. That a campfire can be the event that bonds the group, as it has done down thru all time.
Most deeply I found the Nature around me was ancient. All the plants, all the cycles of weather, all the rules of what goes where and why exists outside of you. Nature Rules. I was in it, only. My place was tertiary.
In comparison MSM is turned up to 11 to instill fear and aggression among the populace. Hitler is on the prowl and anybody, even an innocent Maryland Dad, is a mounted trophy that proves the odious Hitlerian nature of Trump. And only you and your vote is the only salvation. There is no context, no Nature. You are the nexus and you are motivated by fear. The smoke and flame is tactical. To arouse and enflame as much of the citizenry as possible to vote for the Deep State candidate.
For me kicking out the MSM BS is pretty easy. I enjoyed all the above and it formed me. I see the kabuki. I know Nature wins. One could easily say God instead of Nature.
I fear for those who never touched grass as I did. Will they vote us into the globalist dystopian plan? Is manipulated fear and rage to win?
I don't fear the future. I'm old enough to know that in the end, things have a way of working out.
I do have great concerns about the present; everything from modern parenting trends to mental illness running rampant in our society, to geopolitics to everything; everyone is, 'Gah!', and conflicted about at present. We live in interesting times. I know the human heart, mind, and spirit can transcend it all though, and that basically people are decent, when they are away from static, phones, and pharmaceuticals and can hear the quiet of their own minds and true natures. I do have hope.
Thank you for your posts. Make them as frequent or infrequent as you like. A little goes a long way, and words of inspiration are never a waste of time. We all have both a shared experience and an individual one, and joining them is the ultimate challenge. I still honestly think love will prevail, however it comes about.
Beyond something wonderful might happen today, something wonderful will happen today when we look for it. Thank you, Justine, for this essay.
Another really thoughtful piece - glad I found your Substack some time ago and subscribed.
Great essay! Getting ready to head out into it right now. Wish me luck.
Justine, I really enjoyed this thoughtful exploration of our relationship with the future – how our perspective shifts from childhood excitement to adult wariness resonated deeply.
What struck me most was your insight about equilibrium, about how we’re constantly seeking a state of rest or balance. From a perspective I’ve found helpful – and which I’ve tried to share at times, albeit clunkily, in Film Club – this search for equilibrium might actually point to something even deeper than our relationship with time.
Perhaps what we’re truly seeking isn’t a particular future state at all, but rather something already and always present in every moment – that sense of peace and completeness we occasionally glimpse regardless of circumstances.
In fact, what if “past” and “future” – as I think we talked about during a Tarkovsky discussion –were just concepts we only ever experienced NOW, the only moment there ever is?
I wonder how our relationship with “the future” might transform if we recognized that our experience always unfolds in the present moment. The anticipation, fear, or excitement about tomorrow exists only as thoughts appearing now, in the awareness we already are.
In light of that, your invitation to reclaim that childlike “anything could happen today” perspective is particularly beautiful. What if that openness isn’t just about embracing the unknown future, but also about recognizing the infinite possibilities inherent in the eternal present moment?
Thanks for that way you have of sparking opportunities to think more deeply!
Glad you brought this up. The "Future" (and "Past") is Now. Never not now. From this Now, all unfolds.
Yes! Thanks for your comment.
I guess we are two (but not really two) non-dualists in this community.
Haha! Yes, indeed. Pleased to make your acquaintance.
This was damn insightful.
Love your insights here, particularly about prior generations being capable of longer-term, solid Vision and Building. This requires Patience and Fortitude (like the names of the two lions on the steps of the New York Public Library!), two qualities being beaten out of the general public via greed, tech, and opportunism etc. But folks like you, and many of us, retain and nourish these qualities, as well as Critical Thinking, Courage, and Embodiment. Thank you.
The Third Act: Dystopian finality compartmentalized in a box. Keep on breathin'
https://lreid-8462.medium.com/life-is-short-when-the-runway-gets-shorter-c8f14fdbdf7a
Excellent, thank you
As a kid I went camping for a week in the Sierra Nevada thru a school program. I was 12. Just 15 or so kids and 2 adult teachers alone for a week in the wilderness. Absolutely alone. Bus should be back in a week. No means of outside contact. That was OK in 1974 California.
I learned from this that snow can persist at those elevations in shady spots well into late spring. Miners lettuce was tasty. Smores were awesome. Latrines must be dug well away from streams. That a campfire can be the event that bonds the group, as it has done down thru all time.
Most deeply I found the Nature around me was ancient. All the plants, all the cycles of weather, all the rules of what goes where and why exists outside of you. Nature Rules. I was in it, only. My place was tertiary.
In comparison MSM is turned up to 11 to instill fear and aggression among the populace. Hitler is on the prowl and anybody, even an innocent Maryland Dad, is a mounted trophy that proves the odious Hitlerian nature of Trump. And only you and your vote is the only salvation. There is no context, no Nature. You are the nexus and you are motivated by fear. The smoke and flame is tactical. To arouse and enflame as much of the citizenry as possible to vote for the Deep State candidate.
For me kicking out the MSM BS is pretty easy. I enjoyed all the above and it formed me. I see the kabuki. I know Nature wins. One could easily say God instead of Nature.
I fear for those who never touched grass as I did. Will they vote us into the globalist dystopian plan? Is manipulated fear and rage to win?