Past, present, & future. Marcus Aurelius 6.32

Marcus reflects on the power of human agency, which confronts past, present, and future, but can only make meaningful choices in the present.

Ἐκ σωματίου εἰμὶ καὶ ψυχῆς. τῷ μὲν οὖν σωματίῳ πάντα ἀδιάφορα· οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται διαφέρεσθαι. τῇ δὲ διανοίᾳ ἀδιάφορα ὅσα μή ἐστιν αὐτῆς ἐνεργήματα· ὅσα δέ γε αὐτῆς ἐστιν ἐνεργήματα, ταῦτα πάντα ἐπ’ αὐτῇ ἐστιν. καὶ τούτων μέντοι περὶ μόνον τὸ παρὸν πραγματεύεται· τὰ γὰρ μέλλοντα καὶ αρῳχηκότα ἐνεργήματα αὐτῆς καὶ αὐτὰ ἤδη ἀδιάφορα.

I am made of soul, and this little body. For the body, all things are the same, as it is incapable of differentiating them on its own. Things remain undistinguished by my mind, too, as long as they fail to partake in its activities. Everything that manages to belong to the activity of my mind has meaning for it. Of all these things, the moments and events that achieve significance for me, only the present one actually matters. Future and past, while they do belong to my mind, are both alike in escaping my ability to distinguish: I cannot choose anything in them.