Tag Archives: Today

Five Years

5 Sep

As we navigate our lives there are lots of ups and downs. We’re happy, sad, frustrated, weary, angry, and many other emotions. As human beings we feel everything. We sense when things aren’t going well, we celebrate when they do, and most days we do our best to get through whatever comes. Sometimes we get worried about things. We worry about the future, we worry about today, and everything in between. But as we’re worrying, we’re not thinking about the present. Our minds can’t be in two places at once. So, if we’re thinking about what might happen or what has already happened, we can’t be thinking about what is happening now.

Most of what we go through is transitory. We are passing through our experiences day by day. Everything changes as we go, and what’s worrisome today may not even enter our minds tomorrow. In five years, most of what we’re worrying about will be forgotten. Of course there are some very serious and long lasting things that may happen, but for the most part, our worries are for the moment, and when it passes, it’s gone. That being the case, the worry can be set aside. If we can put things into perspective, if they really are transitory, as most things are, worrying is a waste of energy. Whatever is bothering us is going to pass. We’re going to walk right through it to another day.

Sometimes we worry over indefinable situations. We worry about our families and the decisions they might make. We worry about the economy. We worry about the future and what it will bring. We worry about worldwide situations that may evolve. There is plenty to worry about if we sit and think about it. Nobody knows what today will bring. It may be a perfectly fine day, or the bottom might fall out of our plans. All we can do is our part. If we do that, and things go wrong, we will face it. We are able to face whatever comes to us. Worrying won’t change anything. It has never prevented or caused anything to happen – it just takes us out of the present, where we’re living. And being in the present is the best we can do to make things go well.

Today if you’re worrying about something that might happen, or has already happened, let it go. We can’t control all the things that come to us, but whatever they are, we will face them. You have all the courage you need to face whatever happens. Today is all you need to be concerned with. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow will come when it comes. There isn’t anything that will come to you that you can’t face. You are strong and capable. Concentrate on that, and just focus on today.

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Just Today

18 Jun

From time to time we all worry about things. Perhaps there’s been something on your mind, and it just won’t leave you alone. You can’t help it. You think about it constantly. You worry about what’s coming. You worry about what will happen tomorrow. We all have concerns sometimes, and they can make us worry – sometimes for good reason, sometimes unnecessarily. Whether the reason is good or not, worrying about what might happen doesn’t change anything. All it does is take us out of the present. We can’t fully live the day we’re in if we’re worrying about a day to come.

Each day we have on earth is a blessing. We take them for granted, and sometimes just go through the motions, but each day is a blessing. We often realize what an enormous blessing they are when they are suddenly threatened. Something happens where we understand we might not have tomorrow. We may get sick, a friend may die, or there may be a disaster that wakes us up, and makes us realize how lucky we are to have today. Today is the only day we can live. We can’t live tomorrow yet – it hasn’t arrived. Yesterday is gone, and nothing can be done to take us back to it. So we have just this one day. And if we spend it worrying about what tomorrow will bring, we will have wasted it.

We are powerful, and capable beings. We can do a lot when we want to. But most of us cannot read the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or even five minutes from now. We are living now – not later. What will come to us after this is out of our control. So how can we manage something that is worrisome? A good way to let the worry go is to do something about what’s going on in our lives today. There is something we can take care of today, there is something we can work on today, and there is something we can manage today. While we’re working on today, we won’t have time to worry about tomorrow. We are managing our lives as they roll forward. Tomorrow will get here when it gets here. What comes will come. And whatever it is, we will face it then.

If you’re worried, and having trouble letting it go, do something that is important today. Work hard. Get busy living today. You’ll get things done, your mind will be focused on something productive, and you will forget to worry. Tomorrow you will handle whatever comes. You are perfectly capable of handling it – tomorrow. Today is all that concerns you now. One day at a time is all we have. Live your life that way. Live today. It’s a great day to be alive.

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What if?

28 May

Have you ever had a near miss where the hit would have been devastating? For instance, a car pulls right in front of yours, and you have to slam on the breaks, and just before you hit it you stop. Or you slip going down the stairs, and at the last minute are able to grab the rail – just in time. Or maybe you’re at a ball game, and a wild ball whizzes past your head just as you bend forward. Near misses. What if you hadn’t been able to stop, and you hit that car going so fast? What if you had fallen all the way down the stairs to the tile floor below? What if you hadn’t bent over just as that baseball came flying at your head? Near misses are frightening. Looking back at them on the other side can shake us. We wonder, what if?

Our lives are filled with “what ifs.” A thousand things could go wrong. If we think about all the possibilities of what could end in disaster, and how many things could misfire and lead to destruction, we may begin to wonder how on earth we’ve survived for so long. Everything can turn in a moment. In a fraction of a second, everything could change. It’s unsettling to think about, but thankfully, so far, we’re still here.

In our lives we can become complacent. We have our routines, we do our stuff, we take care of things, and generally we don’t  really think about the risks of what could go wrong. If we thought about every danger that could happen, it could keep us from moving forward. After all, we really can’t be successful at anything if we’re afraid of everything, so we just soldier on, and try not to think about the “what ifs.” We assume that everything will pretty much work out, and most of the time it pretty much does. But sometimes it doesn’t. And then everything changes. We can’t predict what is coming our way. We can only deal with it when it arrives. And sometimes the “what ifs” happen to us all.

There are no guarantees for any of us. Since we don’t know what lies ahead, perhaps we shouldn’t take a single moment for granted. Perhaps we should be more thankful for each day we have that goes well. Every single day that we get to do what we want, every single day that things go well, every single day that we survive – we should be grateful.

Today, think about all the blessings you have in your life. There are a lot of them. Don’t take any of them for granted. We have a lot to be grateful for. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, but you have today. It’s a wonderful gift to have today. Don’t forget that. Make it count. And don’t forget to be thankful for it.

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