The onset of fall creates wisps of evaporating moisture gently rising from damp cushions where the sun's warmth lands. Tommy is focused on schoolwork at the nearby dining room table, muttering softly occasionally as he appears to reinforce some passage and teaching. Lucky's lapping of water from the bowl in the kitchen carries a greater distance than I can typically hear, as does Scottie's pattern of rhythmic snoring.
The "Narada Collection" plays throughout the house as I write this. It's a collection of new-age music marking a phase in the mid-80s when this was on heavy rotation for me alongside Windham Hill releases. The Windham Hill offices were on High St. in Palo Alto when I worked downtown, one block up the street, at "DeMedic Systems". It was also when I first came to appreciate the Stanford Theatre. Forty years later, even though these memories are likely as maligned and subjective as memories can be, they remain easily activated by the simplest of a series of musical notes.
Senaca''s "On The Shortness of Life" reflects on the value of the past, writing "…this is the period of our time which is sacred and dedicated, which has passed beyond all human risks and is removed from Fortune's sway, which cannot be harassed by want or fear or attacks of illness. It cannot be disturbed or snatched from us: it is an untroubled, everlasting possession.". And "… just as it is no use pouring any amount of liquid into a container without a bottom to catch and hold it, so it does not matter how much time we are given if there is nowhere for it to settle; it escapes through the cracks and holes of the mind. The present time is extremely short, so much so that some people are unaware of it. For it is always on the move, flowing on in a rush; it ceases before it has come".
I aspire to live consciously aware of my present experiences as the creation of my future's past with equal gratitude of the moment, not of a reflection. It's a constant challenge to do so, to stay so present, as it's not nearly as habitual or ingrained as is living dominantly focused on an anticipated yet uncertain future.