I plant a lot of trees. I am a great believer in planting things for future generations. I loathe the now cult... — Penelope Keith

I plant a lot of trees. I am a great believer in planting things for future generations. I loathe the now culture where you just live for today.

Author: Penelope Keith

Insight: There's something countercultural about planting a tree you'll never sit under. We live in an age of instant results—apps that work immediately, likes that arrive in seconds, problems solved by midnight—so the idea of doing something useful only for people you'll never meet feels almost rebellious. Yet this impulse to plant for the future isn't just gardening advice. It's a quiet rejection of the exhausting myth that your life should only contain things you personally benefit from right now. The practical irony is that thinking this way often makes your present better, not worse. When you're oriented toward what lasts, you make different choices about your work, relationships, and how you spend your time. You're less likely to chase hollow victories or burn bridges for short-term gains. You start noticing that many of life's best things—trust, skill, health, meaningful work—operate on the tree-planting timeline anyway. They require patience and invisible effort before they matter. The "now culture" Penelope Keith criticizes isn't really about enjoying the present moment. It's about anxiety disguised as urgency, the pressure to extract immediate value from everything. Planting a tree is an act of faith that your efforts can matter even when you don't get to see the full result. Oddly, that kind of faith tends to make today feel less hollow.