Live In The Moment, Plan For Tomorrow

28. November 2009 by admin.

As I have mentioned previously, I subscribe to many newsletters and read very few of them.  My delete button is the most worn key on my keyboard.  However, along the way, I pick up some great subject lines and even some inspiration.  The following is excellent and it is my honor to share it with you. 

My Holiday Gift To You… For Real

By Roy H. Williams

Tom Hennen has a line in his poem, The Life of a Day, that says,

“We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, ‘no, this isn’t one I’ve been looking for,’ and wait in a bored sort of way for the next, when we are convinced, our lives will start for real.”

That line is a little bit frightening because you read it and realize you’re guilty.  You’ve been waiting for that day when your life will start “for real.”

The trouble with life is that it’s just so daily.

I share this with you because I’ve been thinking about my two grandfathers who are dead and my father who is likewise and I’ve come to the obvious conclusion:

Live while you have the chance.

“Papa was a rolling stone.  Wherever he laid his hat was his home…” – The Temptations, 1971

In the final moments of his life, my father scribbled a note for me to find.  In barely legible pencil he scrawled, “All the little things in life add up to your life.  If you don’t get it right then nothing else matters.  It gets lonely in the promised land by yourself.”

My Dad died lonely, I think, because he never made deep commitments.  My father’s confession of his loneliness makes me sad, but his scribbled note tells me he wanted me to learn from his mistake.

I meet a lot of people who sigh deeply and say they’re looking for their passion, something to set their souls on fire and send beams of light shining out through their eyes.

But the people with light shining from their eyes know this….

Passion does NOT produce commitment.
Commitment produces passion.

Solomon, that wise king, spent years of his life searching for passion.  In chapter 9 of the chronicle of that search, the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

People read that and think Solomon is saying, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die,” but that’s not it at all.  He’s saying, “Throw your whole heart into whatever you do.  Live while you have the chance.”

This is my

Find something that needs to be done
and throw yourself headlong into it.

Let today
be the day
your life begins
for real.

Roy H. Williams

“May you live all the days of your life.”
- Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels

************************************************** 

I have been searching for my passion so that I can add value to the lives of others.  I have been unable to describe my passion so I figured I haven’t found it yet.  This short story helped me realize that my passion is looking for little ways to help others to see the glass as half full, to help others to think for themselves by introducing them to other possibilities, to help put a smile on the faces of those who have forgotten how to smile.  I enjoy helping people, sharing with people, enjoying nature, and living in the moment.To discover your passion you need only to commit to something with all your heart and all your energy.  Yes, I realize that is a huge challenge for most of us.  We will not meet that challenge by spending our time feeling sorry for ourselves or sitting in front to the TV for hours at a time.When you commit to just 30 minutes a day, everyday, and take a walk, read a book, learn something new and explore more of life, you will eventually find something to commit to and become passionate about. 

Warning: you may enjoy those 30 minutes each day that you soon find that they become 45 then 60 then 120 minutes or more.

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