Some Thoughts from Blaise Pascal

“We never keep our minds on the present moment. We remember the past, as though we wanted to slow down the passage of time. And we look forward to the future, as though we wanted time to accelerate. We wander about in times that do not belong to us, and do not think about the only time that does. We dream of times past and future, and flee from the present. The reason is that the present is usually painful. We push it out of sight because it distresses us – only on those few occasions which are truly enjoyable are we truly sorry to see time slip away. We try to reduce present pain with joyful hopes of the future, planning how we are going to arrange things in a period over which we have no control and which we cannot be sure of reaching…The past and present are our means, and the future alone is our end. Thus we never actually live, but hope to live. We are never actually happy, but constantly planning how to become happy.”