There is no future point in some distant future that we get to live to see. There is no end state.

As Oliver Burkeman puts it so nicely “Life is the sum of present moments”

The sum of present moments. Fkin nailed it, man. There is no existence past this very moment.

Perhaps if there’s an afterlife or maybe a reincarnation. But even in that reality, is there really any other moment besides this present one that we are living in?

I think there’s a reason Bhuddism suggests happiness results from relinquishing all desires. I haven’t quite got there, don’t know that I will.

But I do know I feel far better when my consciousness is keyed in to this very moment. The breath. The feel. The experience.

We don’t ever reach a Future. This is no Future.
Goals, and dreams, and accomplishments certainly exist, but still only in a present state of consciousness.

There is nothing that exists but our present emotional state.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong – This has made sense for quite some time intellectually… in practice? Good luck, mate.

We can plan and act to create a future environment more conducive, but it’s still just some present emotional state. And if we haven’t figured out how to be in the here and now when it’s good… there’s not some future oasis of happiness.

I spent much of my high school and college years waiting. And boy oh boy did I wait patiently. I waited to feel good, waited for the end, waited for it to get good.

But that’s not quite how it works.

You make it get good. And you enjoy it as it is good… and bad for that matter.
Oliver Burkeman also shares an instance where monks make newcomers shower in the ice cold natural falls for weeks – The pain, the sharpness of the frozen water – It’s agony when you wish to be anywhere else. Once you sit and embrace the sensory experience? Oh don’t get me wrong still painful, but far more tolerable.

We don’t suddenly stumble in to a peace of mind. Happiness. It’s False Advertisement. Happiness doesn’t even exist. I’d argue Peace is a far more sustainable adjective, far more sustainable at the very least. Peace and maybe Joy. But not Happiness.

There is no Future.

Hope it’s not too depressing. I’ve at found solace, even liberation knowing that I’m not waiting for something.

All the experience. All the feel-goods, they’re entirely accessible right now.

Our brains are made to adapt to any externals. Might as well use that to train a quality internal.

Waiting for happiness is betting against the House.
Grab it by the throat, it’s time to be alive.

References

• (4 mins) Pale Blue Dot
• (1 min) this dude
• (11 mins) Wim Hof Method
• (20 mins) Joe Dispenza Meditation Practice (dude’s kinda geeky, don’t know if I’m totally sold but it works great for some peeps)
• “A hundred years from now? All new people.” Anne Lamott