"Today is a gift"

32 9 7

by snorlabxja

by snorlabxja

-Yesterday is history... tomorrow is a mystery... today is a gift. That's why we call it the 'present'-

I'll be completely frank with you, those are the warmest words ever uttered by man. I thank Eleanor Roosevelt for saying this, a quote that will never stop being true, not matter what happens in our futures.

I think it's gets a clear point across-that we as humans spend too much time reflecting and preparing. We get stuck in the past because we're still hoping for what has passed to happen again. Because we all wish for do-overs, and memory is the closest we can get to that.

Often, we get stuck thinking, "That was a missed opportunity. A door like that will never open again, and so I'll never get there." But really, we just dwell on what could have been, and it takes up time now. And now is not forever. Something we seem to forget a lot. Things come and go, so we do best to hold onto the time we have between the beginning and end.

Often, we get stuck thinking, "I have to do this now, or else my future is ruined." But really, you don't know what the future holds, because like Eleanor said-it's a mystery. No one knows what really happens after right now. Because things happen unexpectedly, such is the way of life.

We get stuck in the future and past because we miss what is. And what is, is a gift. We all tend to forget that one measly homework assignment... isn't the end of that world. That a failed math test... doesn't make you any less smart, doesn't make the job of your dreams any less reachable. But also, that's not important. Because right now, it is just a dream. And one day, that dream will hopefully blossom into something beautiful, and I hope to see it.

The greatest thinkers and inventors only made history by living in the present. Thomas Edison only made the first lightbulb because he wasted no time in his present, and neither should we. He only became history because he worked in the present.

In our youth, we were all excited to grow up, to be independent, to make our own choices. But as adulthood nears, we fear it. We don't want jobs, or to... to fire people, and hire people, and worry about who's making dinner, and when the groceries are arriving, and how much the gas cost, or when we should take the garbage out. Because that was never our decision. Because we've never done it before. And new things are scary.

And this is why I ask you now... to look around, and see what you have. Because one day, you're going to blink, and now will be gone. One day, you're going to blink, and you'll be taking your last steps out of your childhood home. One day, you're going to blink, and maybe you're getting married, and having kids, and raising a family. One day, you're going to blink, and someone close is going to die.

One day, you're going to blink, and you'll have forgotten that you read this once... because it was seventy years ago, you're lying on a bed, taking just a few shallow breaths every minute, your heart rate slowly decreasing.

And this is why I ask you now... to take care of your childhood. Because one day it will be gone. And you're going to miss it, because you didn't live it. You were busy thinking about what would happen... thirty years from then!

And this is why I ask you now... to live in the moment, smile while you make memories. Because everything becomes a memory one day. One day you'll be a memory. One day I'll be a memory.

A good one, I hope.

And this is why I ask you now... to hold on to what you have today.

Because today is a gift, and that's why they call it the present.

Thank you, Eleanor Roosevelt.

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PFHTHTHTH-

PARDON MY WISDOM-