“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I post this quote, one of the most memorable from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Great American Novel,” The Great Gatsby, because today, April 10, 1925, the enduring classic was published by Scribner’s. Fitzgerald died just 15 years later at the age of 44. The acclaim he received for such a masterpiece was never fully realized until after his death.

The line is also the final line of the book. It is also engraved on Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s grave at St. Mary’s in Rockville, Maryland.

Despite the dreams of Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, trying to reclaim the past, trying to return to a time long gone, there is no way to go back.

We cannot try to re-create the past. We cannot go back to fix it or alter it in any way. We cannot fix our childhood or the things we missed out on. We cannot reverse time. We cannot amend our mistakes or make new choices that affect the past.

Time only goes in one direction.

Time continues to move forward.

Don’t get stuck in the past. Don’t get stuck in a boat that only goes backwards.

Press on forward. Make choices that will affect your future. Make your life count for today.

Carpe Diem! Seize the Day

– Jason