Carrots and straw and gold

The future gives us more than many philosophers would have us believe.

It may not be here yet, but without a little planning,  it is going to be a crap shoot. I know that is not the popular thing to say, but it is the truth. There was no doubt about it a hundred years ago, or so. If you didn't plant the food, weed it, water it, harvest it, preserve it in some way -- you didn't eat the next year.

Bad diets lead to bad teeth, bad bones, unhealthy immune systems, inferior growth, uncomfortable living. Food is just one example of how important it is to plan for the future. Poor education, or planning, often influences our future job satisfaction and ability to live life in a way we find more compelling than just existing.

It is possible to be content with what is, but that is more true when what is -- is nice.

In my life I have often felt content with what is, but that has also usually hinged on the fact that I believed the future would be better.  Being landlocked by snow in 2009 for five days, alone, with no heat, power, or phone, was only bearable because there was the constant possibility that these things might be fixed at any moment.

So, as much as I try to live in the now, it is the carrot, the future, that often makes a difference. My job is to find the right carrot.

I cannot spin straw in to gold, and believing some little gnome is going to appear and make everything perfect is not realistic, but there are lots of things in between straw and gold that have value and if I can find the one to focus on that will bring me the most satisfaction, or joy, then life usually has more purpose and more pleasure.