Do we get a tomorrow?

Why is it that we saw Christmas decorations before we even got the Halloween ones down? And why is it that in the hours before the Thanksgiving feast many of us were making up shopping lists for the coming weekend?

We always seem to be looking ahead to what’s next. Today doesn’t seem to hold our interest. But the problem with such a mindset is that we’re not promised a tomorrow.

Those plans we’re making? That next thing we can’t wait to arrive? They may never come.

Today could be it.

Today might not seem like much. It might not have arrived with much fanfare. And it might not be able to hold a candle to the unknown possibility that tomorrow may hold,

but it’s here.

Today’s available, right now, for us to grab and make the most of.

What are you going to do with it?

I know what I’m going to do with it. I’ll enjoy the sunshine/rain/wind and lift my face in the moment because I am here. And I went to a memorial service yesterday for someone who is not.

And I went down memory lane with all those I have loved who are no longer here for me to tell them or show them how much I love them.

None of us know what our last day will be, so I will remember Og Mandino’s lesson in his book, “The Greatest Salesman in the World.”

I will live this day as if it is my last. And if it is my last, it will be my greatest monument. This day I will make the best day of my life. This day I will drink every minute to its full. I will savor its taste and give thanks. I will maketh every hour count and each minute I will trade only for something of value. Each minute of today will be more fruitful than hours of yesterday. My last must be my best. I will live this day as if it is my last. And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.

getting ready for our new year…

December is always a somewhat crazy month…a month of highs and lows, of stress and relaxation, of endings and beginnings. As we face the end of the year, we may face a bit of melancholy sparked with a dab of hope: I’m suggesting we give ourselves a gift of some time now in order to […]

The challenge is not the earthquake…

The Grand Canyon wasn’t created by an earthquake! While it’s tempting to imagine that… it turns out that what makes change happen is usually… The things that break all at once aren’t really a problem. You note that they’re broken, and then you fix them. And often, because we notice the breakage, we more than […]

A favorite story of mine…

One of my favorite stories bears repeating from a 2017 post of mine! Two brothers grew up and worked together on the family farm. One married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit. Then one day the single brother said to […]

when I want to change…

I read about an effective way to form good habits and break bad ones. The article I read said to change your habits, change your identity. The concept was a reminder that how we see and label ourselves can dramatically affect our habits. A paper published in 2011 by a team of Harvard and Stanford […]

The music of our lives…

This October was the opening concert of the Walla Walla Symphony featuring our new music director and conductor, Dina Gilbert, and the popular suite, The Planets, by Gustav Holst. It was great! (And my thought for today is that we can consider our lives as symphonies too!) When we consider our lives as a symphony, […]

Our attitudes caused by..?

Our attitude can be based on politics, the weather, the way people treat us, or a whole lot of other things. Or…it could be whatever we choose it to be. When we allow our attitude to be determined by it can be volatile, undependable, and not very productive! With all the media “news” these days […]

Why don’t they change?

Have you ever wished/prayed/exhorted/pleaded for someone to change? “If only he would get a job.” “If only she would choose a different person.” “If only they would let me help them change.” After all, we want the best for them don’t we? And…we just happen to think we know what the best should be. If […]

What is enough?

Enough? Plenty? Need a bigger bowl? Or maybe a smaller one? We often “unthinkingly” think we need/want/ deserve more. We expect a coffee drink to nearly reach the brim of the cup. We become comfortable with a level of debt that’s just below our debt limit. We are smart enough, though, to know that if […]

Temporary fixes?

What do Scotch tape, Post-it Notes, paper clips and staples have in common? They each may seem to have a different function, are made of different materials and serve us well. But we admit that they do have a common purpose. Scotch Tape pieces hold things together for a short period of time. Post-it Notes […]