'How soon is now?' said the slug

"How soon is now?" said the slug.

 

"Don't quote The Smiths at me," said the magpie.

 

"What are 'Smiths'?" said the slug.

 

The slug slid.

 

The magpie fluttered.

 

"How soon is now?" said the slug.

 

"Now is forever," said the magpie.

 

"But what of the past and future?"

 

"They don't exist."

 

The slug inclined its head.

 

"In consciousness, they are a myth," said the magpie.

 

"I am a slug," said the slug. "To me, consciousness is a myth."

 

"You know what I mean," said the magpie.

 

The slug did.

 

"I worry..." said the slug.

 

"About what?" said the magpie.

 

"The past... the future..."

 

"Have you not been listening?"

 

"Whether or not they exist, I worry about them!"

 

The magpie blinked.

 

"Consider..." said the magpie; "the present is an infinite singularity. An infinitesimal dot of time. Even this does not truly exist (how long is now?), but it is where we live. When we live. Everything to either side of this singularity does not exist, except in anecdote or prediction. Anecdote and prediction are intangible abstractions. You cannot know what will happen. You can say what happened, but you cannot know what happened. Live in the singularity! Exist in the now! Why waste a minute worrying about what does not exist?"

 

"Hmm."

 

"What?"

 

"I still worry though."

 

The magpie flew.

 

The slug slid.