Residency in Joutsa - Day 14

We often describe time as a linear progression. Dogen Zenji in the 13th century spoke of seeing time also as a continuous process- a series of instantaneous moments of the present. Even though we know the preset moment will depart, it is exists now and can only exist now.

In a way, it is always now- a continuous duration. Past and future don't exist. We can think of the past and future - but our thoughts exist in the present. It is in the key of the present that past and future might exist.

I write this in a small cafe around lunchtime.

When the present moment is so filled with long curtains, printed red and green tablecloths, the sound of a cash register and women talking, the smell of a damp wall, a cool breeze from a crack in the window, a radio hum, golden leaves falling outside, electric light bulbs and dishes being stacked, what sort of sounding board is it for the past or the future? What images and sounds might be evoked?