Dear Future

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”

                                    -Abraham Lincoln

It’s kind of scary, isn’t it? The future.

It’s this massive, looming thing that hangs over our heads, wanders around in the back of our minds, slips through our thoughts and conversations, and leaves behind this sense of wonder, a sense of fear and awe for what we don’t know.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destinies, but ourselves.”

– Shakespeare

Some people look towards the future with bright, sparkling eyes. Dream and ideas, visions and thoughts waiting to be created, to be done, experienced. There are others who know exactly where they’re going, they can see the future ahead of them, they know where they are, who they are, and what they want to do. Some people fear the future, they’re afraid of what’s to come, what will happen. They dread the days looming before them.

And then, there are people like me, I suppose, who look towards the future with an air of curiosity.

To be honest, I don’t know what to expect of the future, I doubt anyone does. There’s so much that could happen, so much that could change, and the thing is, we’ll never know when or how they happen, or what will happen. And I’m okay with that.

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”

– Victor Hugo

Because the thing is, the future is something meant to be looked towards. We look back at the past, we look toward the future, but sometimes we forget that we’re standing here in the now. Sometimes we get distracted and we don’t know where we’re going or where we came from, we forget.

But that’s okay.

“The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now.”

– Bill Cosby

I think the future is meant to be feared, to be adored, it’s the future. We’ll never know what’s going to happen, and that’s fine. Because what we forget really matters is living here in the now. Enjoying your life as it is and taking it in stride and never forgetting what it means to just be alive right now.

We don’t live to die, we die because we live.

“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future. But today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”

– Bil Keane

And yes, while that does mean we should always live life to the fullest, it doesn’t mean that we should be stupid. After all, there’s so much to live for. The future is scary, it hangs over us like a cloud, but not all clouds are bad, some bring rain, some bring shade, some bring dreams. It’s okay not to know what you want to do or where you want to go.

The future isn’t meant to be stressed over or worried about. It’s something to look towards and expect, because it comes to us everyday, one step at a time, and I think we can handle that.

“Dear Future,

I am looking forward to what you bring.”

– Past

Looks towards the future, remember the past, love the now, and I think you’ll be just fine.