Our Eternal Present

This is Where We Find Life

The concept known as the “specious present” was first introduced by the philosopher William James in his influential Principles of Psychology (1890). It is defined as the period of immediate consciousness — the interval between what has occurred in the near past and what will happen in the immediate future. In other words, it is the “now” between the past and present. And we experience this present moment as a very brief duration. As I speak, we think of my last sentence as the past; what I am about to say is the future, and this fleeting moment, the present. We often hear that we should try to live more in the present, a broad concept we can all understand, but try to grasp what defines this present moment, and it isn’t easy.

Over the arches of the triple doorway of the Cathedral of Milan, there are three inscriptions. One is a beautifully carved wreath of roses, and beneath…