The Present is a Gift

"All my best days are behind me"

"Those were the best days of my life"

"The glory days"      "The good ol' days"

"If I could do it all over again...."

I believed these phrases to be true at one point in my life.  But I have to remind myself that the past is in the past.  I cannot, and will not, and do not believe that my past was the best part of my life.  I'm not saying that I didn't love my days at Auburn and at DAR high school, because I treasure those days.  I shared many good and bad experiences with the most wonderful people in the world.  I am so very thankful for the people that have been a part of my life.  I am a better person today because of these people; they will always be in my memories.

But many times our memories can fail us.  Our memories highlight the good parts of the past.  We so often forget that the "best times of our lives" were not perfect.  We had problems and struggles like we still have today.  We had an argument with a friend, a break up, or maybe we lost a job or failed a test.  We probably learned more from these so-called failures than from many of our successes.  That is part of the maturation process of a human being: experience. 

So what is my point?  The point is that we cannot dwell on the past.  We can learn from it and appreciate it, but we cannot let the past be the focus of our thoughts.  It's gone.  Done.  Finished.  We can't change it, no matter how hard we try. 

Many times I've been asked, "Daniel, when was the best day of your life?"  And I could never think of a clear day that stood out to me.  This bothered me for a while.  I began to think about it, and I've finally found my answer.  The best day of my life is today.  The here and now.  Why?  Because I'm living it.  I CAN change it and appreciate it to its full extent.  It's Wednesday, July 27, 2011.  I'm sitting in the living room, watching an old Mike Tyson fight as I listen to Miles Davis and drink  sweat tea from a glass.  Does life get any better than this?  Sure, it probably does.  But I can transform any of those things if I want to.  I have the power to change what I want if I live in the present if I don't dwell on the past.  Actually, I can think of an alteration to make at this very moment that will make my life a little better: I need to fill up my glass with more tea. haha

Going back to my point on dwelling on the past, it is also easy to get carried away with focusing on the future.  Yes, of course I should think about the future and prepare myself for it.  But the end result is not the point of life.  The journey is just as important as the finish line.  For example: if you're purpose in life is to eventually make enough money to support a family, then you have to start now.  You do this by saving money when you can, working hard enough to get a promotion, or studying for a test in school/college to get that degree so you will have a comfortable job in the future. 

Another example (just as Ashley and Ryan are doing):  If your calling in life is to spread the Gospel, then you prepare EVERY DAY to do this.  Preparation includes studying the Word, learning how to speak one on one to different people, and learning to support others spiritually.  Do they wait until tomorrow or the next day to begin preparing for these things?  No, they do these things every single day.  In the PRESENT.  And because they do these things, they will be ready when it's time for them to go out into the world. 

These are only two examples, but it applies to any goal you have in life. 

Again, we have to think about the future at times, but we cannot get caught up in the future so much that we forget about the present.  The present is the most important thing.

Two of my favorite quotes actually sum up this entire piece of writing and rambling:

1- "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"

2- "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"