Today

A few minutes ago I was thinking of a song I learned as a child.

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. (Randy Sparks - sung by John Denver)

The song itself is about not caring what tomorrow brings, just living in the pleasure of the moment. Many people would find that offensive. Even sinful.

I think there is wisdom in living each day as it comes. That way, without regrets about the past and worry about the future, there is only today - enough strength, enough wisdom, enough courage for this one day, dispensed as we need it. Another song that comes to my mind says,
We have this moment to hold in our hand and to touch
as it slips through our fingers like sand -
Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come,
but we have this moment, today. (Gaither Vocal Band)

I spent decades filled with regret over the things in the past I could do nothing about - things which happened to me without my consent, and some of which I had a part in creating. I spent the same time worrying about tomorrow, worrying about what people thought of me, what they meant by what they said to me, whether I would ever have any real friends. I wasted that much energy - in remorse, in anxiety - that I didn't have enough energy for the 24-hour period I was experiencing. When I first started to rid myself of the chains of the past and start living in today, it was uncomfortable because it was so new. However, as I continued, I noticed that my enjoyment of the moment was enhanced, I had more energy to handle the things that were happening now - and I was happier. Go figure.

It's a powerful word - the word "now."
It's where God, who is eternal, lives.