December 29, 2025 by Glenn Mangurian
As we turn the corner and enter 2026, we reflect on the past and look to the future. But, when does the future actually start – tomorrow, in ten minutes, after reading this essay? When we write our New Year’s resolutions, are they about the future or the present? Isn’t the present yesterday’s future? Isn’t today’s future struggling to become the present? I’m all confused. This is starting to feel like I’m in the middle of the “Who’s on First?” skit.
The present/future/past quandary occurred to me the other day. I proudly finished my memoir about a year ago and published it into a book for my children and grandchildren. The book covered my life from my earliest memory to what I confidently labeled “present day.” Rookie mistake. Because here I am—still alive one year later, accumulating more material, experiencing chapters I would have liked to have included. When I wrote the memoir, I never thought the end of the book would be my last days. Now I’m wondering: did I write the memoir too early? Should I release a second edition? Maybe just tape a Post-it note to the back that says, “More happened. Sorry.” What am I supposed to do a year from now—assuming I’m still collecting material and God is still willing? Faced with these questions, I turned to something smarter than me: ChatGPT. “Hey Chat,” I asked, “When does the present become the past?”
ChatGPT responds.
Well Glenn, the present becomes the past instantly and without notice – a fragile bridge between anticipation and recollection. No bell. No warning. Just gone. By the time you recognize the present, it’s already history. A moment may feel ordinary while we are living it, only to crystallize later as a memory that matters. Time moves forward but, meaning moves backward, and somehow we’re expected to keep up. If the present never became the past, there would be no memory.
I’m not sure I got all that, but it sounds profound. Give us some insight on when the future becomes the present.
ChatGPT responds.
The future becomes the present the moment it is no longer imagined and begins to be experienced. There is no countdown or visible threshold—only a quiet handoff, where expectation gives way to sensation – the instant uncertainty collapses into experience. Possibilities narrow into a single outcome, and anticipation dissolves into action. What might happen stops competing with alternatives and simply does happen. Yet the transition is fleeting. Almost immediately, the present slides into memory, and a new future takes its place.
I hope this AI insight into the future/present/past dilemma helped to clarify things for you. If so, you might better understand why your well-intentioned, New Year’s Resolutions became frozen in the future and struggled to make it to the present. If we could just jump into a time-traveling DeLorean automobile, we’d have it all figured out. Good luck, enjoy the present (while you have it) and Happy 2026!
Glenn Mangurian is a Hingham resident of 42 years. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at
gmangurian@comcast.net