“I have no other self than the totality of things of which I am aware.”
–Alan Watts, “There is never anything but the present”
Discussion
Yeah the past and the future are an abstraction. Which isn’t to say they aren’t real. Abstractions are real.
Still it’s an odd feeling to realize that there never has been, and never will, anything other than the present moment. That there really is no “whenelse” to be. Not even like as a metaphor, but like *actually*
I can perceive this only fleetingly. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to be able maintain this awareness- maybe some people can.
Moment by moment. 🙏🏼
One must come to the present moment to experience peace. (Tao Te Ching)
However, the pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. (Kafka)