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That sounds more motivating than it is in reality. However, I like the emphasis it puts on the importance of every passing day. Every day counts in the life of a human being.

Duke dwelled on the past a little but he seemed to be holding on to it for what it was. A meaningful time. I sometimes get obsessed with the past but it's just happenstances that I don't necessarily build a tent on.

As for the future, I've started worrying about it of late. I guess adulting brings that feeling naturally.

bwill93 wrote: ↑10 May 2018, 19:09 I have only read the review of this book, but it seems like an incredible story. In terms of living in the past or future, I think it's natural for people to flip back and forth from past nostalgia to future anxiety or excitement. What I try to do is just live in the present moment. The past is gone, it's never coming back. Learn from it and move on as best as you can. After all, what is life but just one continuous present moment? To me, it seems that if you're not living in the Now then you're not living.

I thought this part of the book was the best part. Some guy said chico was a weak character but it's his softness that allows for this kind of like to be said.

I think there needs to be a balance between past and future. Memories are found in the past and can be the source if great pride and joy. Hopes and dreams relate to the future and give us something to aspire to. If we neglect to consider the effect of the past or future and strictly live in the now, we are buying ourselves in.

I worry alot sometimes over the simplest things. I really need to start living that way because I only have control over the choices I make today and can only hope that if tomorrow comes and I'm there that those choices were the right ones.

It's only normal to be worried about what tomorrow will bring. Human beings are largely concerned about their fate. However, the only guarantee to a good tomorrow is how well you utilize your today.

I think the difference between Duke and Gary is that Duke found his calling. Duke knew what he wanted to do and followed his heart and tried his hardest every single day to do it. Even risked life to do it. And continued to do it once he was sick.

Gary on the other hand, who seem to be partying and living in the moment, wasn't really living with purpose. He had no calling. He was lost and wandering and did the only thing he knew to do to numb his mind enough to not think about his life having no meaning.

I think Duke tried his best to live in the moment but could never completely escape his past. Living in the moment is something I have been trying to do more of recently, because there is no reason to worry about the future. It will all work out in the end.

This sentiment reminds me a lot of the philosophy of living in the moment (Thinking Eckhart Tolle.) And I agree that there can be a lot of good that can come out of that thinking. I also believe wee can take "the power of now" too far. Tomorrow might not be guaranteed, but is it likely that we'll live to see tomorrow and the day after that? If so, don't we need to plan and cope ahead? If all of us just lived in the present, we would lose our dreams, our aspirations, and drive. All I'm saying is, there needs to be balance (as with anything in life).

The main point I believe is to always do your best today or do whatever makes you happy at the present as no one's for sure about the future so you better enjoy what you do love most to do.

As much as we try to live today, we consciously or subconsciously worry about the future and try to plan it and even make preparations for it.

bwill93 wrote: ↑10 May 2018, 19:09 I have only read the review of this book, but it seems like an incredible story. In terms of living in the past or future, I think it's natural for people to flip back and forth from past nostalgia to future anxiety or excitement. What I try to do is just live in the present moment. The past is gone, it's never coming back. Learn from it and move on as best as you can. After all, what is life but just one continuous present moment? To me, it seems that if you're not living in the Now then you're not living.

Agree! For me, it's usually 90% nostalgia, which is always my childhood from 90s or early 2000s. I do have moments of ''could-haves and should-haves' but then it's over as fast as it came, because I'm like, "Well, I didn't." But future anxieties. . . ahhh life.

But we can only live in the moment that we're in.

Who can say they live 100% in the present, even with the budding popularity of mindfulness and "you only live once" mentality, people still get lost in their headspace. That said, being present is a goal I constantly work towards.

You picked one of my favorite quotes from the book. I sometimes like looking back at the past, but sometimes, it just brings back some painful memories. However, you are nothing without your past. So, I wouldn't completely ignore it at any point in time.

I think we all aim to live in the present, which can be tricky. Everyone's life experiences are different and unique. There are occurrences keeping us obsessed the past and there are occurrences pushing us to focus solely on the future. We all want to be present, but I believe we fool ourselves into believing "there will be time for that later." Either way, Duke's sentiment is correct and, like all of us, he tried to live it best as he could.