I'll Just Stay Back There For A Little While

In my musings about the mysteries of life, I often wonder why we don't know Future.

We obviously can remember Past and of course we live Present, but why is Future withheld from us?

If there is such a thing as the Great Planner, why did he/she decide that life should be one big surprise party after another?

Obviously I am not the first to wonder such a thing and obviously there are many, many people who are desperate to know Future.  Along with that, there are many, many people who have taken advantage of such desires.   Fortune tellers,  astrologists, tarot card readers and psychics to name a few.

Charles Dickens imagined it and brought it to life when he created the character "Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come".

And who can forget Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in "Back to The Future."

In my imaginary world, I see myself walking in the forrest down a narrow path.  I seem to know exactly where I am going but I am in no hurry to get there.

Fallen leaves and pine needles crunch under my feet.
The forrest is filled with sounds of song birds and animal rustlings.

I soon spot a small cabin with candles in the windows.  As I approach, the front door opens and an old man and woman appear.  The man is holding what appears to be a large book.  They are beckoning me.  I walk up the steps of the porch and they usher me inside.

A crackling fire burns inside a large stone hearth. There are two big overstuffed chairs on either side.   The man and woman each sit in a chair and motion for me to sit at their feet.

The man opens the book and begins to tell me the story of my life.  The old woman whispers in my ear, "pay attention," she says.

This might not be as far fetched as it sounds.   As I look back on my life I recall those whispers that I should have paid attention to.  I have had many erie moments of deja vu.   And there have been times when I just knew something great, or awful was about to happen.

So perhaps I have been told my life's story in that cabin in the woods,  but for now glimpses of Future are too painful for me and Present is sometimes even hard to bear.  So for today Past is where I will hang out just for a little while.