Doesn't it feel like we live our lives in the shadow of a possible future? A future that is always deferred, never quite here, always on the horizon, edging farther and farther away... perhaps until one day we realise there's not much of the road left. I feel this sense of deferral when I am making my decisions for the house... should I do this now or wait and see how I am placed in the next 2-3 years? Is this a good idea now, what if I want to do xyz in a few years? I don't mean one must make spot or impulsive decisions. What I mean is the future is always an unknown. I don't even know I will live past the year. Nothing is certain. When we live in this 'deferral' mode we are living for a time that might never arrive. How does one balance a future orientation with living in the present? How does one enjoy the present fully or do things to enjoy the present fully so that even if that horizon never appears... one has lived... to the extent one could have. I say 'could have' because as a reflective person I am never going to be completely about enjoyment or the moment. My joys are also of a different kind. They may be about a plush sofa where I do my thinking and writing than about going to a big bang concert. But whatever brings one joy, I suppose it's important to ask, would I rather have done that or said that or felt that etc—if all there was, is now.