TODAY IS THE MOMENT

REGARDING HENRY
By Henrylito D. Tacio

TODAY IS THE MOMENT

JOHN Denver is one of my favorite singers.  One of his
songs which I like most has these words: “Today while
the blossoms still cling to the vine, I’ll taste your
strawberries; I’ll drink your sweet wine.  A million
tomorrows shall all pass away, ere I forget all the
joy that is mine today.”

The second stanza goes this way: “I’ll be a dandy and
I’ll be a rover.  You’ll know who I am by the song
that I sing.  I’ll feast at your table.  I’ll sleep in
your clover.  Who cares what the morrow shall bring?”

Today, what a pleasant word!  Yesterday is gone; it’s
history.   Tomorrow is yet to come.  Emily Matthews
observes: “If we make the most of each precious today
and look forward to all that it brings, we’ll greet
each tomorrow with high expectations, and fill life
with wonderful things.”

Today is the day after yesterday and the day before
tomorrow.  Western society considers today as the
period of time between the previous midnight and the
next midnight. Yesterday, today was referred to as
tomorrow, and tomorrow, today will be referred to as
yesterday.  “Today” is usually equated with the
present, despite that it stretches several hours into
the past and/or future.

When I was still in high school, our teacher told us,
“Don’t wait for tomorrow if you can do it today.” The
reason why he was reminding us because we usually
didn’t do what he told us to accomplish.  We take for
granted the precious time of today.  When the time to
pass our projects, we had to make double time.  Most
of those we finished were just so-so.

When I started working in a non-governmental
organization, I started to value time.  I have to
accomplish the things I have to accomplish each day.
I don’t have to wait for tomorrow to finish what I
have started today.  At one time, I was given a task
to be done. I asked my superior when he needs it.
“Yesterday,” he replied.  It may sound funny but it
actually happened!

In one of the companies I have visited recently, there
was this signboard in the office that caught my
attention.  “Please be reminded that your emergency is
not our emergency.”  Short, precise and direct.  In
most instances, we don’t pay attention to some of the
works that need to be done.  So, when someone ought to
have them, it becomes an emergency on our part.

Experience is the best teacher, so they say.  And
yesterday has given us that experience.  The ‘Daily
Motivator’ explains, “Experience is something that can
never be taken away from you. Though the material
things you possess will rust, fade, peel, crack, break
and become obsolete, the experiences you live through
will stay with you always.”

Each day is filled with so many opportunities to
experience the richness of life.   The ‘Daily
Motivator’ reminds: “As you go through this day, keep
in mind what an incredible, irreplaceable, great
experience life is. Wherever you go, whatever your
circumstance, fill the moments with meaning and
richness. Today is a special day, a day to be alive.
Live it with joy, with wonder and intensity. Your
great experience is happening now.”

We have to live one day at a time, Charles W. Shedd
suggests.  “You can plan for tomorrow and hope for the
future, but don’t live in it,” he clarifies.  “Live
this day well and tomorrow’s strength will come
tomorrow.”

Today is the day of opportunity to take action, to
make things happen, to create, to express ourselves,
to be with those we love, to experience the beauty
that’s around us.  As one sage puts it, “The way you
spend this day will have repercussions which will echo
through your life for years. You have the opportunity
right now to control whether you’ll look back on today
with satisfaction or with regret. So what will it be?
That’s up to you. Today is here right now. It’s your
opportunity to fill your life with value and meaning.
Make it a day you can continue to live with and
enjoy.”

So, what you can today?  Lots of them!  As Penn White
says, “I will learn something new; I will try
something different; I will savor all the various
flavors life has to offer.  I will change what I can
and the rest I will let go. I will strive to become
the best me I can possibly be.”

Handle the hardest job.  Easy ones are pleasures. Do
not be afraid of criticism.  Be glad and rejoice in
the other fellow’s success.  Be enthusiastic – it is
contagious.  Be fair and do no at least one decent
act.

Have confidence in yourself; believe you can do it.
Harmonize your work.  Let sunshine radiate and
penetrate your relationships.

Mend a quarrel.  Search out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.  Write a
love letter.  Share some treasure.  Give a soft
answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in a
word or deed.

Keep a promise.  Find the time.  Forego a grudge.
Forgive an enemy.  Listen. Apologize if you were
wrong.  Try to understand.  Flout envy.  Examine your
demands on others.  Speak love.

Think first of someone else.  Appreciate, be kind, and
be gentle.  Laugh a little more. Take up arms against
malice.  Decry complacency.  Gladden the heart of a
child.  Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the
earth. 

Welcome change as a friend; try to visualize new
possibilities and the blessings it is bound to bring
you. Never stop learning and never stop growing.
Cheer someone.

Fight temptation.  Pray for yourself and for someone.
Go to church. Plant a tree.  Don’t ride, walk.  Run
for your own sake.  Jog to shed extra weight. Sing to
your heart’s content.

Clean your drawer or table.  Quit smoking.  Wear a new
shoes or shirt.  Have fun. Compliment your teacher or
professor. Listen.  Cry.  Laugh.

Again, here are some thoughts from Penny White: “I
will no longer worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will
always be there, waiting for me to make the most of
it. But I cannot make the most of tomorrow without
first making the most of today.”

An unknown author said it all: “Life is today — not
tomorrow.  The time you must live is now.”