> The message seems old. The entire self-help industry revolves around saying variations of it. Stay in the present. Enjoy the moment. Seize the day.
Plenty of old books too:
Art of War - Choose the right battles to fight.
Meditations - Live in the present moment and focus on what you can control.
Tao Te Ching - Live in harmony with the natural world.
The Bhagavad Gita - Find meaning in your actions even in the face of uncertainty.
The Bible - Make the most of your time on earth.
> Time is a series of nows. In that sense, the future never arrives.
It's a good perspective. Especially if you make the most of the present each day. But if you have nothing to look forward to, how can you really make the most of each day? That's the basic argument here.
Many philosophers believed you need to have a strong vision to make the most of your life. That can be found through one's acceptance of mortality/finitude/purpose/morals/desires/suffering/etc.
>> Many philosophers believed you need to have a strong vision to make the most of your life.
I'd say it's not to make the most of your life, but to make something of it. Having goals or purpose can be separate from the competition for "most". I also find that goals or principles help to make decisions when a course is not clear. Like a tie breaker.
Your summary of the Bible is off base. If you're summarizing the book of Ecclesiastes, you're almost there. Solomon provides a succinct description of the point of the book.
Ecc 8:15 15So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his fntoils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
But also
Ecc 11:8-9 8Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.
9¶Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the fnimpulses of your heart and the fndesires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
As for the Bible, I'll direct you to the late theologian Chuck Missler.
Plenty of old books too:
Art of War - Choose the right battles to fight.
Meditations - Live in the present moment and focus on what you can control.
Tao Te Ching - Live in harmony with the natural world.
The Bhagavad Gita - Find meaning in your actions even in the face of uncertainty.
The Bible - Make the most of your time on earth.
> Time is a series of nows. In that sense, the future never arrives.
It's a good perspective. Especially if you make the most of the present each day. But if you have nothing to look forward to, how can you really make the most of each day? That's the basic argument here.
Many philosophers believed you need to have a strong vision to make the most of your life. That can be found through one's acceptance of mortality/finitude/purpose/morals/desires/suffering/etc.