02 December 2009

Just Today

I got this in a recent Joke-Of-The-Day email and just had to share it:

------------------------------------------------------

Rex Barker here with "Just Today," sent in by Dara F of Portland, Maine...

Please submit your favorite inspirational stories, pictures, quotes, or dog pictures to RexBarker@Joke-Of-The-Day.com

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry. Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone!!

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, whether in splendor or behind a mask of clouds. But it will rise. Until it does we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day: today.

Any man can fight the battles of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of two awful eternities - yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down.

It is not necessarily the experience of today that disturbs one's peace of mind. It is often time the bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore live one day at a time.

This is Rex Barker reminding you that while we should remember the past and plan and anticipate the future, it is critical that we don't get paralyzed by either. By focusing on making the best of the present, we can actually make the past a sweeter learning experience, and make tomorrow's hopes and dreams closer to reality.

------------------------------------------------------

Or as Professor Harold Hill would say: "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."

Which is part of why The Music Man is one of the greatest musicals ever.  8o)