A Thought About Living In The Now.

It’s only been a short time since I discovered the wonderful benefits of being on facebook. I have loved every minute of connecting with all my old friends from the past; both those from school and those from church. In some ways Fb has made me long for what used to be; to re-live those care free days of my youth. Some people have changed so much and look so different, while others haven’t changed a bit; they are exactly the same as I left them 20-30 years in my past. Either way I have so enjoyed getting to know them all again, each person so unique and precious in their own way. It brings back such fun memories of being young again.
This is really a refreshing view for me since I realize now that I’ve spent the last 40 years dreaming of the future, always striving for tomorrow and what might be held there for me. You all know what I mean, first growing up, then being an adult, getting married, having kids, finishing my Masters Degree, having a career that I love.....all stuff I have achieved and although it is now in my past it was all stuff I longed for to happen as a future event; never truly being happy ‘in the now’ so to speak. If only I could.... If only this would happen..... If only, if only, if only.......
We all know that we can’t live in the past.....we can appreciate it, we can learn from it, we can build on it, but it doesn’t do us any good to hold on to it so tight that we don’t move forward. The past is the past, is the past, and we also know that we can’t ever change it, so there is no use dwelling on the mistakes we’ve made or the choices we so badly regret. On the other side of that coin though, we also can’t always live for the future. It’s never wrong to have hopes and dreams but we also can’t find our significance in it because none of us truly knows what tomorrow will hold or even if we will be around to enjoy it. There is no use counting on, or hoping for what may never be. We need to get rid of the ‘if onlys’ and the ‘what ifs’ that we hold so tight to at times.
I am totally convinced that we (and when I say we, I’m speaking to myself as much as anyone)must begin to live and enjoy every moment to it’s fullest. We need to take each precious moment that God gives us and make the most of it; to truly live in the ‘here and now.’ I want to (and maybe it’s the mid life crises speaking here) begin to ‘stop and smell the roses’ along the way, I want to be sure to leave nothing undone. I want to be sure that each and every person I’m in contact with gets the best I have to give them, and most importantly to never miss the opportunity to tell those that I love what they mean to me. I know it will be hard to always remember to do this as my wicked heart can be so selfish at times, but it truly is the desire of my heart, and I’m positive that as life goes on I will never regret making the most of every day and choosing to live each day moment by moment by moment by moment. And that’s all I have to say about that....for now.