When do you live?

Sitting in church today I had a strange thought- through the course of a ' life they are constantly changing their consciousness' focus.

As a child all we comprehend is the here and now, maybe stretching it to find next week or month to look forward to Christmas.
As an early teen I remained concerned with today, next hour, and the next school day.
As I've matured into a young man I now find myself caring more and more about my distant (and not so distant) future. I think and wonder about the direction life will take me, what consequence my actions will have, and if I'm moving in the right direction.
I imagine that after I return from my mission I will have a stronger perception of the here and now.
Then as a mid-aged man I can see myself looking to the future again, the future of a family and worrying about providing for them while simultaneously fulfilling my own ambitions.
As an older perhaps retired man I believe everything will change, my focus will turn more towards the past, looking over my mistakes and successes and wondering if i did enough good to be remembered.

Where is the best place to be, is the the past, present, or future?
It has to be a balance of all three.
If you live only in the past the present would be waisted, your future would go unnoticed and eventually unused.
Living strictly in the present would mean ignoring the consequences of your actions until they were right in front of you making you miserable, and your past would be a worthless collage of self-fullfilling moments.
Those that live only in the future are the dreamers that never wake to work for their fantasies. A life used in this way will be full of worry and empty of substance.
It has to be a balance.
A learning remembrance of the past, an active use of the present, and a trusting acknowledgment of the future.

~M.R.