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Future I think is a set of Presents coming one after the other.So philasophically speaking we are actually worried about our ``Presents``.So the Present will always be and always have been a mixed feeling scenrio.

Enjoyed it saima all the way.I agree with the spirit of the story from my heart but the mind says that all the time it is ``present``.Future, where is it, because when the time comes to grab it ,it becomes present.So if I were to live for the present without the fear or concern of the Future, then I am spoiling my present and if my present is not happy one then my past will be miserable and if my past is miserable then I would not like to keep it a part of my memory.So I think that it is because of my future that my present will be good and a happy one.And because I want to keep it that way I will always be worried of my FUTURE.

Salman Qadeer

really good one, saima! i enjoyed your explanation s just as much! fear of the future and regret over the past just run and ruin.

Ms. Shah,

Thanks for your confirmation/explanation. I would agree that we should appreciate the present moment more than most of us probably do, since it is only in the present that we ever actually do anything. However, the passage of time (or even the ``death march`` that we all are inevitably taking) should not, I think, be a cause for concern. I say this because if one considers the absolutely magnificence of what we already know about things around us, then perhaps our ultimate personal demise becomes unimportant. And when one considers how much humanity is capable of achieving (in terms of scientific knowledge and technological capability) when people live in the present (not in the past or in the future), then thoughts about the future can supplement, not replace, our capacity to enjoy the present moment. This reasoning reinforces, I think, the message in your story of living and enjoying the present without fear of the future. (those of us concerned with * *past * * glories, with grievences inflicted in the past, and so on, to kindly take note).

TAhmed321

Yes, the big bang is what I meant. Thanks for the reply and your question.

Apparently the Universe is moving further and further away (from itself in a poetic sense). The sigh is the sense of nostalgia and regret that the going away implies. The idea I wanted to convey is our own sense of alienation from ourselves. THe way I see it, our expectations and hopes for the future completely control our present even though all the while we are afraid of death`s ultimate control over our actions. We expect to live and achieve in order to vilify or justify today. Savings. All done for the future. Interest, the Time value of money and a million other things. That`s what civilization/the industrial age has done. It has made the future more important in terms of decision value than the present. If I may speak for myself; a lot of joy that the present offers is sacrificed in the name of the future or not enjoyed as it should be.

This is a beautiful piece of writing. Time`s sad sigh is to my mind the creation of the universe as we know it (i.e. starting with the ``big bang`` that gave rise to stars and when the clock started ticking, so to speak). Is that what you meant? if not, would my interpretation make sense?

Thanks for your comments, Wasiq. It is good to see you as well. It hasn`t been all that long since I last wrote for Chowk (Aug98 I think).

The poem by Goethe sounds very interesting. If its possible could you post it or a bit of it?

Wonderful work! It`s great to see you on Chowk after a long time. After reading the story, I was prompted to go back and re-read a poem by Goethe, which I had read a long time ago, Erlkonig (from his first Weimar years). It`s the story of a father who is riding in a dark night with his sick child. Time and Death, like an object and its shadow, complimentary and inter-related.

Very well written!