Now

Is now forever?

I apologise for the difficult question so early in the morning, but that’s something we have to worry about. On top of all the other things we worry about, now there’s an existential aspect to it. It’s an important consideration, because if now is forever, then the future is very bleak. There’s no escaping it.

Unless there’s some precedent which shows us that now is not forever and things can change. In which case, you might be able to see a silver lining to the cloud that hangs above us. I suppose it’s quite possible that you are so far under the cloud, or that the cloud is so large and enveloping, that you can’t see the end of the cloud in order to actually see that silver lining, but here’s something we definitely know: clouds are not infinite.

Therefore, the cloud must have sides. Perhaps it stretches over the forest, and as well as not being able to see where the cloud finishes, you can’t see the wood for the trees. But somewhere up there the finite nature of clouds means there’s a silver lining, which is probably just the reflection of the sun rather than actual silver because otherwise some evil corporation would find a way to mine clouds and do even more damage to nature while finding a way to charge us for their wanton destruction.

The thing about now is that it’s always going on. Remember back then when things were great? That was now at the time, but obviously it’s not now anymore. Which does suggest that now isn’t forever, which means that the now we’re currently exist in isn’t the now we’ll experience as time passes.

But until there’s a new now, the now we currently have feels a bit permanent or something. I think humans are predisposed to a bit of what I like to call ‘now paralysis’, which sounds like a Bobby Brown song from the the late 80s, but I can assure you it’s not. Let’s say the old now was good, but then the new now is less good, it’s easy for you mind to say ‘Well, this is how it’s going to be forever, and I am not looking forward to the upcoming now’.

Which brings us neatly back to the question at the start of this blog. And when you ask a question like that, you have a duty to answer it otherwise people might find themselves distracted all day. It is quite the conundrum, and I don’t want anyone’s day to be ruined as they ruminate and consider the issue. If you’re a taxi driver, for example, you don’t want to take the wrong exit off the motorway when you’re taking a fare to the airport, causing that person to miss their flight, which in turn makes them late for a family reunion at which their father chokes on a salmon blini and nobody can do the Heimlich manoeuvre effectively and the last time they spoke to their father when he was alive they had some cross words and never being able to make amends leaves them with a sense of sorrow and regret they carry with them for the rest of their life. As the taxi driver, you’ll probably never even know the impact of that missed turn, unless that person got a receipt and tracks you down in the future (which as we understand is just a now which hasn’t happened yet).

I’d hate be the cause of that, because look – this isn’t a mystery blog, it’s a football blog. I’m not here to vex you or confuse you, although I suspect those out there with a keen interest or specialisation in nephology have already been somewhat bewildered by the talk of clouds having sides or ends. My contention, such as it is, is that while now is not particularly great, before now it was better, and while I can’t make any assurance as to the exact moment now improves, it will happen at some point. And now will be good again, but not forever. Which is a shame because when now is good I like it a lot more than when now is like now, if that makes sense.

So, to conclude: I think we have scientifically* proven that now is not forever, it can just feel like it sometimes.

Important information – please read: Your perception of time and clouds may vary. This blog makes no assertions as to the length, breadth and size of any make of cloud, including but not limited to: Cirrocumulus, Nimbostratus, Cumulonimbus, Megastratus, and Steve; as well as time measuring devices such as clocks, phones, watches, assorted time-pieces, scratches on the wall of a prison, and those things people have in the garden where the sun shines on them and you can tell the time from them if you know how they work but let’s be honest nobody these days has any idea I mean can you even imagine asking a kid to use a rotary dial phone or to put an LP on the record player they’d have no idea so let’s not pretend that’s a viable way to tell time these days give me a break.

* As witnessed and approved by Professor Godfrey Twatschlock, Chief Scientist at the Scientific Journal of Science 2024.

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