I don't live in the past at all; I'm always wanting to do

In the words of Brian Eno, master of sound and imagination, we hear the call of the restless spirit: “I don't live in the past at all; I'm always wanting to do something new. I make a point of constantly trying to forget and get things out of my mind.” This is not mere forgetfulness, but a philosophy of renewal. Eno speaks as one who knows that to cling to the past is to wither, but to release it is to be reborn again and again, ever fresh, ever unchained by what has already been done.

At the heart of this wisdom lies the discipline of forgetting. Not the careless forgetting of neglect, but the purposeful forgetting that clears space for creation. The artist, the dreamer, the thinker cannot build if their soul is crowded by the ruins of yesterday. The glory of past achievements, the sting of past failures—both can become prisons if held too tightly. Eno’s practice of forgetting is a form of liberation, a way of unburdening the mind so that it may soar into realms not yet imagined.

The ancients too spoke of this truth. The Stoics counseled that one must not be weighed down by yesterday’s griefs or joys, but live fully in the present moment. Marcus Aurelius himself wrote that life is fleeting, and that he who clings to the past wastes the present. Even in myth we find this wisdom: the phoenix, that immortal bird, is reborn only by burning away what was, its old body reduced to ashes. In this fire of forgetting, it rises anew. So too does Eno teach us: to create, to live, we must burn away the past.

History bears witness to the power of this principle. Consider Thomas Edison, who after countless failures in inventing the electric light, never allowed the shadow of defeat to paralyze him. Each failure was forgotten in the moment, or rather transmuted into fuel for the next attempt. Had he lived in the past, remembering only the defeats, he would never have reached triumph. His life mirrors Eno’s insight: to move forward, one must let go of what lies behind, even if that past was full of glory or sorrow.

But there is also something heroic in the yearning for something new. Eno’s words are not only about forgetting but about seeking—seeking uncharted waters, seeking unfamiliar sounds, seeking visions the world has not yet heard or seen. This spirit belongs not only to artists, but to all who would live fully. For the soul stagnates when it repeats endlessly what it already knows. True strength lies in the willingness to step into the unknown, to dare to fail again, to dare to create anew.

The lesson for us is this: do not cling too fiercely to the treasures or wounds of yesterday. Hold them lightly, and when the time comes, release them. If you succeeded, rejoice briefly, then let it go. If you failed, grieve briefly, then let it go. Life is a river ever flowing forward; only by entering its current can you be carried to the next horizon. To live always in the past is to stand upon the shore, unmoving, while the waters of life rush by.

Practically, this means cultivating habits of renewal. Clear your mind through silence, through meditation, through journaling. When tempted to replay old glories or losses, remind yourself: they cannot feed you now. Seek new challenges, new skills, new friendships, new paths. Train yourself, as Eno does, to forget with intention—not because the past has no value, but because the present demands your full attention, and the future awaits your courage.

So let us remember Brian Eno’s wisdom: do not live in the past. Forget it, release it, and turn your eyes to what is new. For the past, whether bitter or sweet, is but ash. The present is fire, and the future is possibility. To live as Eno lives is to embrace life as a constant rebirth, to walk unshackled, and to create boldly, without fear of yesterday’s shadow.