Surfing Through Time: A Stoic Approach to Living in the Moment

How Frank Herbert's Dune Inspires Us to Balance Our Past, Present, and Future

“It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune

Hello! That Frank Herbert quote from Dune is pure gold. It’s never easy to get people thinking about stoicism without hitting them over the head with a textbook. So let’s break it down, shall we? Just two pals chatting, no worries—unless you’re worried about catching an earful of advice.

1. Living in the Past: Trying to relive old memories is like putting on fuzzy glasses and turning up an ancient box TV that barely works anymore. You know the picture is going to be bad, but there’s something about seeing that familiar scene that keeps you hitting play anyway. Stoicism teaches us to think back on our lives, sure, but it also teaches us how to move on from those lessons so they don’t keep us from appreciating the new things happening right now.

2. Living in the Present: This is always easier said than done. Telling someone to stay perfectly balanced on a surfboard while standing atop a moving wave seems impossible. But for some reason, stoics are all about this stuff—embracing the chaos around them, taking control of what they can control, and letting go of everything else. And even though it sounds like foolproof logic when somebody says it out loud…we all know it ain’t.

3. Living in the Future: Planning your whole life away is like saving up for a vacation you never take: a waste of time and energy if there ever was one. Stoic folks know that tomorrow is this big ol’ mystery full of unknowns. You can try finding where X marks the spot all day long (please do), but why would you do that instead of enjoying today?

So what do you do with all this wisdom? Here are a few things:

- Look Back Once In A While: Spend some time every day reflecting on what you’ve learned before pushing forward.

- Take Time To Smell The Roses: Give meditation or mindfulness a shot. Even just a few minutes can make you realize how nice today is.

- Plan For The Future, But Don’t Forget About Today: Goals are great! Dreams and aspirations? Necessary. But put one foot in front of the other with all these plans swirling around your head. If you run too far ahead, you might slip on an obvious crack.

Marrying a bit of stoicism with Herbert’s words gets you well on your way to navigating life’s dunes. Think of it like hanging 10 on a surfboard while dodging waves from all directions—hard as hell, but that’s half the fun!