The past is a guidebook, the future, an unwritten novel. You glean wisdom from the footprints behind you, but the blank pages ahead are where life happens.
Here’s the paradox of existence: we live forwards, in a constant state of discovery and surprise, yet we understand life by looking backwards, seeing our actions and choices stitched together into the tapestry of our personal story.
It’s a delicate balancing act, an ongoing dance between the past, present, and future. But it’s in this dance where we find wisdom and reward.
Kierkegaard sums it up even more succinctly:
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”
—Soren Kierkegaard