Those of us who ask the question, “What if?” are treading on delicate fabric. Very often the existential curiosity attaches not only passably to our own fortuity but also less acceptably to that of others especially those now gone and once close to us. Wishful thinking is at best entertaining; at worst it is paralyzing. We all know nothing will change what has already transpired; and as frequently we fake or mistake the prediction of our own future with equal distortion and inutility.
Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the subjective experience of thinking, feeling, and acting. For example, in the view of an existentialist, the individual’s starting point has been called “the existential angst”, a sense of dread, disorientation, confusion, or anxiety in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence.
Getting out of the dream and removed from the purely imaginable is the preferred inquiry. It’s too late to change what has already happened. It is as worthless to project what might have been different. We’re destined to the evolution of our singular magic, a resolve we need not be reluctant to commit. Make no mistake our individual creation is indeed magic not merely because of what was done to get us here in the first place but more significantly for ourselves the subsequent power to influence the course of events in our lives by using seemingly mysterious or supernatural forces.
A parenthetical reminder at this point may be both instructive and helpful: Nobody escapes challenge and periodic disappointment. But beyond the limitation of the grossly disadvantaged, the rest of us owe it to ourselves and others to stop the whining and get on with it. It isn’t that no one cares or that no one’s listening; rather it is plainly and simply our private duty to humanity to fulfil the removal of our being from everyday existence to something special. In short we alone are in charge of our characterization of what is normal and what is special. And both are achievable.
As for those supernatural resources at our disposal, the first imperative is to acknowledge that the only thing that now matters is what is to come. This means living in the moment – a fiction we call the present, that ineffable measurement which captures only what is or what might become not what was. True, we’re all a function and product of our past, including naturally the influence of others whether familial, romantic or functional. But I can say with unflinching deliberation – and without the remotest exposure to contradiction – there is no future! We never “get there” so to speak, we’re forever confined to the present except what we remember of the past. Otherwise no one has ever seen the future.
If however you persist to believe that there is a discoverable future then I recommend using all available talent and ability to paint the canvas. I am confident that the application will be of unfathomable reward.