Past and Present I know well; each is a friend and sometimes an enemy to me. But it is the quiet, beckoning Future, an absolute stranger, with whom I have fallen madly in love.

With the new year comes the opportunity for renewed focus and direction. It’s all symbolic, of course, as December 31 and January 1 are entirely arbitrary. That’s partly why I’ve moved away from new year’s resolutions and toward guiding words instead, even if I don’t live up to them as much as I would have liked.

At the same time, I feel like we all have this love affair with the future. The past is behind us and cannot be changed. The present is happening right now, and it is what it is. But the future is yet to be told and is full of potential and limitless possibility. What will tomorrow bring?

The above excerpt comes from Slaying Dragons, a collection of quotes, poetry and short stories by contemporary American writer Richelle E. Goodrich. Those lines really capture this quintessential human feeling. While our relationship with the past and present can be both strained and adored, the future is unknown. It is up to us to write the story.

What will your verse be in 2019? What tale will you tell?