Today is That Day

We all have a tendency to take things for granted: the function of our bodies, the way the world turns, and how trees grow. It’s a human tendency, I suppose, to take things for granted - like walking, breathing, and good health; many of us don’t think about these as the gifts they are until they are taken away from us.

I spent my early years, perhaps, taking many things for granted, like everyone else... but, a long time ago I made a conscious decision to avoid the bad habit of putting things off for a ‘better day’, like spending more time in nature, going for night-time runs, climbing mountains, and camping out under the stars in the middle of nowhere. Those things I have always done since then, and they now pretty much define my life. I didn't put my life on hold because I was too busy keeping on keeping on, entrenched in the pedestrian, money-making, mundane side of life. I took the time to indulge my wildest dreams and notions and acknowledge the amazing things my body could do for me. Perhaps it was when my body failed me at an early age that I first appreciated the importance of not putting off the important things in life.

I recall a conversation with an old doctor friend back around 1977 who made a habit of traveling to the far reaches of the planet seeking out as many adventurous experiences as possible. I recall him saying something to the effect of ‘I’ve seen so many patients lives change overnight; their dreams lost and forgotten. I’ve seen people become entrenched in caring for someone close or struggling to navigate their own way through illness and the dreams they once had just fade away. I can’t take my life for granted; I want to make the most of every single moment’.

Those words have stayed with me ever since. I decided to not put my life on hold, no matter what... ever! Postponing life for a ‘better moment’ might seem prudent at the time, but life is for living... NOW. None of us can know what lies around the next corner. Life is a cycle of paradoxes, conundrums, and enigmas; it’s also full of inconsistencies, challenges, and contradictions (with a few impossibilities thrown in along the way). Even when life doesn’t go down the path we had hoped for and it may change beyond recognition, it’s still important to acknowledge the amazing, wonderful, and incredible things that ever surround us. It would be easy to focus on the challenges as those things that define our lives, but have we forgotten the wonderful and amazing things do so as well?

Life is a confusing bundle of experiences, but we have a choice: either keep our heads down and follow the herd, or rise up, be proud and strong, and set a new course from this day forward. Neither choice is ‘wrong’, of course, as ‘wrong’ doesn’t really exist, not in any context. We are all individuals and we all have choices whether it’s the actions we take, or do not take, the thoughts we have, or the words we speak. As is often the way of life, there’s a very good chance that whatever path we choose, we are likely to end up at the same destination anyway. It’s not that any particular set of events shape and define the paths of our lives... it’s our thoughts, choices and beliefs as well.

As we each reach some turning point in our lives, sooner or later there comes a time when we sense that we need to live more in the moment, to stop taking things for granted, and instead choose to make the most of life from then on. Striding towards our goals, showing more compassion toward others, finding peace within our hearts and souls… the list is endless, but it seems so important to stop putting life off for a ‘better day’. TODAY IS THAT DAY.

As we near this crossroads/turning point of this moment, it seems to be a point of shift where we can always move towards a position of clarity as there is a need for each of us to find our own point of inner balance: that space where we feel in sync with our heart and soul. It’s hard to articulate, as it’s a state of being rather than something to do, go or get, but when we close our eyes and take a deep breath, we can begin to gain a sense of this balance as our breathing settles, and we move more into the present moment.

Inner balance is a state of being that allows us to move through life with more grace, to choose to live wholeheartedly and to trust the process of the flow of life. Inner balance is a way of being and a way of living that exudes into every corner of existence. It’s an intention to live with open hearts and open minds, to move towards loving kindness and acceptance. Life is for living. We are vibrant and compassionate beings, and it’s time to honor this more now as we find a new path to walk in unity, love and balance. Stop putting off living. TODAY IS THAT DAY.