"Eldest"

As many of you know, Eldest is the second book by Christopher Paolini, the first being Eragon. As I was reading it today I came across quite the "quotable quote":

Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now.

I obvioulsy liked it since I wrote it down and have now posted it on my blog. I thought that was bold to say that the future "doesn't exist and never shall" but as I thought about it I realized that in a certain light, it's true. The only thing that is real and that we have power to manipulate and control is NOW. Our future does exist, it is made up of all our "now's" one minute, hour, and day at a time. Just as the sculptor sees in his mind the end product, it is not created all at once, but one careful blow of the hammer to the chisel after another. So, by focusing on our "now's" and making the best of them, we ultimately create and even control this "non-existent future" to which Paolini's character refers.