[…] it is true—as the Eastern mind has discovered before the Western mind was even born—that ultimately there is only the present. The problem is that the Western mind tends to misinterpret this assertion as meaning that the past and the future can be forgotten and ignored. Such misinterpretation is tragic: the present is the only thing that exists because both the past and the future exist in the present, as integral parts of the present.
You have never experienced a past beyond your memories, which are themselves experienced now; always now. You have never experienced a future beyond your expectations which are themselves experienced now; always now.

Therefore, to truly live the present moment in all its richness and breadth, in all its substance and depth, we must integrate our memories and expectations, our history and aspirations. In the language of the Western mind, we must embrace and embody the past and the future.

To be our true selves, we must be the entire arrow of time. If you succeed in doing so, you won’t feel empty or alone a day in your life.

— Bernardo Kastrup