So, what if we really are projecting ourselves out in this fashion into this Nothingness that will become our future? Well, initially, the prospect had me rather concerned, and I thought that projection was, in fact, a very poor choice of words on Heidegger’s part, especially for one so clearly conscious of the impact of linguistic connotation. After all, if we live by projecting, we live as mere shadows of ourselves, it would seem. This hardly seems an authentic and fully expressive mode of Being.

What I realize in writing this, however, is that there is also a certain brutal truth in the very nature of projecting that I didn’t consider. While our future selves, our projections, are completely dissimilar from the past/present selves we project from, this doesn’t make them any lesser in existence. In fact, to accept this continuous process is to realize that life is a one-way, irreversible journey.

¶ 9:39 AM