*3 May 2023* In the TV Series 'Damages', one of the key characters who is facing up to his crimes says "Hell is knowing the past and the future, but not knowing the present." This struck me forcefully because, as we know and are constantly told, we need to learn to live in the present moment rather than in memories of the past or fears for the future. Only the present moment actually exists, so if we want to live our lives with any satisfaction we need to live in the present. So to be unable to know the present is to be deprived of the very thing that makes life worth living. Hell indeed. Sometimes the present moment is wonderful and we want it to last for ever. At other times it is horrible and we want it to end with immediate effect. But the present moment is all we have got so we have try to make the most of it, not allowing it to make us too high or too low. I am really bad at this. When my brain is in idle it is often absorbed with something that happened earlier or something ahead. Am I living in hell? Not quite, I hope. But 'knowing the present' is the invitation I need to keep accepting.