Is There Anything More Undependable Than The Future?

​Oliver Burkeman says, "I can't entirely depend on a single moment of the future." But I wonder, do some of us depend on the future more than we depend on anything else?

And additionally, I wonder, is there anything more undependable than the future?

How many people went to bed last night absolutely certain that today would be their day, only to not wake to the light of this new day?

I've come to believe the future is the most undependable thing we depend on. It’s the one we keep trying to secure, predict, or bargain with, as if our present moments are just down payments on a future that’s guaranteed to pay us back.

But it rarely works that way. The future doesn’t owe us anything. It isn’t even a real thing yet; it’s just imagination disguised as calendar dates.

What’s strange is how often we hand our peace over to that imaginary future. We say, “When this season passes… when I finally get that job… when my kids are older… when I’m healed…” And in doing so, we keep postponing the life we’re actually living.

The irony, though, is that the only place we can actually shape the future is in the present. The future is built out of moments like this one, this day we keep underestimating because it doesn't feel as magical as some magical day we dream of down the road.

Oh, if we only knew the magic of having this day...

Maybe there's a more dependable question we need to bring to this day: "What magic can I contribute to this day that doesn't depend on anything from the future?"

Is it my faith?

My kindness?

My compassion?

My undistracted presence?

What can I bring to this day that reflects who I am and not some rehearsal of who I dream of being tomorrow?

Tomorrow.

I guess it can offer hope, but I'm also sure it keeps far too many of us from contribution hope to the world today.