Daniel S. Milo skriver i boka Good Enough om The Invention of Tomorrow der han gjør noen betraktninger om framtid;
"My theory is that among the tiny sliver of humans, the brain overcame itself. Its burdens persisted, but by inventing the future it rescued humanity from extinction. With the future came the seed of restlessness. Thus did a couple of hundred migrants leave Africa, precipitating a demographic explosion. These explorers defied the universal regime of inertia and negative feedback. Where nature yearns for stability, humanity bends to the dream of tomorrow and the change it portends. It is a dichotomy that persists to this day and always will, enabling all our species' brilliance and all its waste."
I naturen finnes bare nåtid (og fortid), ingen framtid
Alt liv eksisterer i nåtid, uten noe forhold til fortid eller framtid.
Tid eksisterer ikke i naturen (eller i universet), tid liksom framtid er noe mennesker har funnet på
Naturen (og universet) eksisterer kun i form av energiomsetning…‽
Menneskets besettelse av framtiden bringer lykke og sorger:
kreativitet; man fantaserer om hva man skal gjøre eller lage i morgen
egoisme; man hamstrer for å stå rustet til i morgen
konflikt; alle vil ha det beste for morgendagen
rastløshet; man glemmer å leve
…
…
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”
— Omar Khayyám (1048-1131)
“O friend, for the morrow let us not worry
This moment we have now, let us not hurry
When our time comes, we shall not tarry
With seven thousand-year-olds, our burden carry”
— Omar Khayyám (1048-1131)
"What can be more stupid than to be in pain about future things and absent ones which at present are not felt?"
—Giordano Bruno (1548-1600)
"Que chacun examine ses penseés, il les trouvera toutes occupeés au passé ou à l'avenir. Nous ne pensons presque point au présent, et si nous y pensons, ce n'est que pur en prendre la lumière pour disposer de l'avenir."
"Let each one examine his thoughts, he finds all occupied in the past or in the future. We hardly think of the present, and if we think about it, it is pure light take to dispose of the future."
"Enhver som gransker sine tanker, vil finne dem opptatt med fortiden eller fremtiden. Vi tenker knapt på nåtiden, og hvis vi gjør det, er det kun for å kaste lys på våre planer for fremtiden."
― Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
"The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever."
― Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)
“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”
― Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
“If we open a quarrel between the past and the present we shall find that we have lost the future.”
― Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965)
"I morgen heter vårt i dag - i går,
og all vår fremtid heter fortid siden,
men det forklarer at hvert nu vi når
er selve evigheten midt i tiden."
— Herman Wildenvey (1885-1959)
“The present is the only thing that has no end.”
― Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)
"What Homo knows at any moment, of the actual future is absolutely nothing."
— W. Ross Ashby (1903-1972)
"One great thing about growing old is that nothing is going to lead to anything. Everything is of the moment."
—Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”
― Viktor E. Frankl (1905-1997)
“We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.”
― W.H. Auden (1907-1973)
“It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.”
― Frank Herbert (1920-1986)
"Time is liquid. One moment is no more important than any other and all moments quickly run away."
— Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)
"The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality."
― Robert M. Pirsig (1928-2016)
“Make the best of every moment. We’re not evolving. We’re not going anywhere.”
― David Bowie (1947-2016)
“The past is always beautiful. So, for that matter, is the future. Only the present hurts, and we carry it around like an abscess of suffering, our compassion between two infinities of happiness and peace.”
— Michel Houellebecq
"When we think about the present, we veer wildly between the belief in chance and the evidence in favour of determinism. When we think about the past, however, it seems obvious that everything happened in the way that it was intended."
— Michel Houellebecq
"Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply."
—Thich Nhat Hanh
“Be mindful of the future. But not at the expense of the moment.”
― George Lucas
“Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.”
— Dalai Lama XIV
…