Life is Short: Appreciate Today, While Planning for Tomorrow

Life is short, and we never know just how short it will be. We assume that there will always be enough time to do what we want.  But then one day we wake up and realize that time has somehow slipped away. Maybe it’s watching our parents become elderly before our eyes. Somehow overnight we see someone who was strong and full of energy become frail and tired. Or maybe you come across an old picture of yourself and it hits you on how much you have aged. We ask ourselves where all the time has gone.

It seems just yesterday that we could do whatever we wanted with little or no consequence; our body could handle it. Sleep didn’t matter, we could do anything.  Now just the thought of doing what we used to makes us cringe. When did that change occur?

Life no longer seems so infinite. Hopefully you can look back and smile. Have you been able to find happiness? Can you look back and say that you lived a good life full of cherished memories and experiences? Or did you work so much and so hard that you missed out on what really matters? Are you able to enjoy what you have or are you always looking ahead for what’s next, forgetting to enjoy the moments as they occurred?

Appreciate today, while planning for tomorrow.

There comes a time for all of us when we have to accept our place in the life we have. Sadly, too many of us work our whole lives looking forward to the future that we miss out on the really important things when they happen.

We live in a busy, complex society that makes it easy to lose ourselves in what we’re doing, but difficult to remember why we are doing them. Important things are often placed on a “back burner” because we believe there will always be another day. And all those important things we never got to will be left for our survivors – adding additional stress to an already difficult time.

If we can come to understand that time waits for no one, maybe different decisions would be made – projects and “bucket list” items would be completed, questions wouldn’t be left unasked or unanswered, and our wishes would be shared.

We only have a short time in this life, and while you may be working hard to provide a secure future for yourself and family, be sure to appreciate the effort along the way. Be grateful for what you have and who you still have in your life, your spouse or partner, your children, your parents, your family and friends, and even your pets.  We never know what tomorrow will hold. Appreciate the moments as they happen because once those are gone we only have our memories.