Believe the past is real, and the future will be just like it
The past: a set of ideas about things that, in this present moment, are no longer true. The past and its stories exist only in our minds. As such, the past can be useful, but never real.
Useful, in the sense that we carry what is real about the past with us. Past love, friendships, or creations are real depending upon their existence in the present. Positive habits and work we have done in the past may also be real in that they shape us now. Similarly, errors of the past can be real in the present to the extent that we have learned the lessons and made corrections.
What is real about the past is only that which is real and alive in the present. Therefore, only the present is real. If a relationship or situation from the past holds no relevance to the present, it can be forgotten. If a wrong of the past has been corrected in the present, it should be forgiven.
The question is always this: what is real now? The present is where healing can occur, where progress can be made, where joy can be experienced, where love can be shared, where creation can occur. If what you do now extends on and on—remaining as part of this eternal present moment—then it has become lasting, real, eternal in this holy instant (what the mind would incorrectly understand as a "future” separate from now).
A better future is then, really a better present moment. You remain in a positive state of being. All your doing, relating, and creating is flowing from joy and peace. You and the people around you want this, will reward you for it, and will ask for more. They will experience happiness and goodness with you. Do not wait for the future, create it now.
It is always a question of now. To live as though the past and future are more real than the now is to live in darkness. The ongoing now is the only field where everything exists, has always existed, and always will. To see this obvious reality is to awaken from the mind-based dream, to destroy the ego, to end illusion and confusion, and to embrace all that is real and true. We continue tomorrow and each day after that.