I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people make comments like: “Don’t rush, take your time.” Or: “I really don’t have time to deal with this now!” Or: “I have plenty of time!” Now, I understand what they are talking about and I have made and continue to make similar statements myself, all of the time! But, when you really stop and think about it, the truth is; the only time we have is now; this very present moment!
Yesterday, last night, an hour ago, a few minutes ago, and even a few seconds ago, are all descriptions of time that no longer exist! That time is gone! We can’t use it anymore! We can’t re-live it! Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, even the next hour, the next minute and the next second, are all descriptions of time that we can’t use yet because it doesn’t exist! We can’t live in the past because the past is gone! We can’t live in the future because the future is not yet! The past is gone; we no longer have it! The future is not ours because we haven’t got it yet! The ONLY TIME we have and the ONLY TIME we can do anything with is NOW!
Therefore, it would be wise for us to learn to live more fully in the now! Wisdom dictates that we learn not to spoil now with leftovers from the past nor preempt now with promises of the future! We messed up yesterday! So what? Learn from it! It’s spilled milk! It’s water under the bridge! We can’t take it back! What we can learn from the past is to be more careful with the now because the decisions we make now will produce the results we live with tomorrow! And when “tomorrow” comes (and in a sense, “tomorrow” never really comes, because when it arrives, it is no longer tomorrow; we call it “today!”), we must learn to live it to the fullest and not wait until the next tomorrow to do what we could and should do today!
So, what is it that you could or should be doing now? Are there some things you want to do, but everything hasn’t fallen into place yet? That’s OK, do what can you do . . . now! When you make it a practice to always do what you can do now instead of trying to wait until everything is just right before you do anything at all; you will get more living out of life! Now is so precious and valuable! It is actually more valuable than money! The value of a thing can be measured by its limitations. All things being equal; you can always earn, find, or be given another dollar, but once you spend time; it is gone forever! Yes! Time is valuable and there is no time more valuable than now! Now is a gift, that is why it is called “the present!”
Yesterday is a cancelled check and tomorrow is a promissory note! The only currency currently available to spend is the time we have today! And even when the time is today; the only time we can spend within today is now! There is a Gospel song with the lyrics: “Lord, teach me to live one day at a time!” But the truth is we really can’t live one day at a time! We can actually only live, one moment at a time! Yes! The only time we can live in is now! The only time we can do anything with is now! THE ONLY TIME WE HAVE IS NOW!