Today or Next Year

“Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day.”
― Francis Gray

Now that the reality of 2015 is ending and a new year is about to begin, what happened this past year and what did we learn? Did we do all of those things we promised ourselves back in late December of 2014? Are we ready for what will come in 2016?

Spoiler alert - I'm not so sure.

The life we live is full of contradiction, happiness, sadness, surprise and terror. We plan for a smooth road with rest stops along the way in perfectly timed succession. But what we get is a hilly and bumpy path which gets us sort of where we want to be.

And that path many times branches off in directions we had not planned for. Yet we continually plan and make arrangements, adjusting to the new course we are on. Life will not get in our way of achieving what we want.

So we trudge along looking for something beyond today.

You see it in our politics ... soon as someone is elected the opposing party sets their plans towards the next election instead of working today, together. The middle ground is only a future possibility once they are elected again.

You see it in our religion ... sermonizing of what a god may have for us, for our good deeds, for our religion. Knowing the future and eternity is ours if only everyone else would just get on board with our way of believing.

You see it in our culture ... the year old smartphone which is now deemed too old, too old fashioned for the bright new shiny toy. Always looking for the next big thing and never taking the time to enjoy what we do have.

To simply give up is not in the human spirit.

So we trudge along, confronting each of the day's battles yet planning of a greater tomorrow. And maybe those plans will lead us where we want, but what if we planned for today? What if we dealt with things today?

2015 is closing on the calendar and we tell ourselves of a plan for 2016.

In 2016 we will pull back from the far edges of our political arguments.
In 2016 we will live for humanity and not for a single religious ideologue.
In 2016 we will embrace what we have and marvel at what comes along.

Or we can start today, December 29, 2015.

Stay inspired my friends.

But What Of Tomorrow

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
― Corrie ten Boom

Even after a huge tech deal in which Dell Corporation of Round Rock, Texas acquired Hopkinton, Massachusetts based EMC Corporation - the sun came up.

And it will continue to do so long after this deal completes.

Get on with the business of today and let tomorrow worry about itself.

Stay inspired my friends!

Today Is Not A Rehearsal

The Rehearsal by Edgar Degas

"Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed."
~ Wayne Dyer

I read an article recently which spoke about the act of moving forward. An act in which we keep moving forward despite the obstacles we each face every day. In the article, Sandip Dutta wrote of a warrior bearing his burden and keeping his eye on the goal.

"The warrior moves on; he moves on despite a dead horse and a broken sword. The warrior moves on! With no one to fight for him, no one to fall back on, he moves on with an unshakeable faith and an unwavering determination. With a damaged armor and an empty arsenal he moves on.... he moves on!

He has already lost a thousand battles but he still moves on despite the hundred bleeding scars on his moonlit face. The warrior moves on for another battle; may be he will lose it too but he moves on with his dead horse and a broken sword because the battlefield is calling. He knows he might lose another hundred battles but he has his eyes fixed on the war and he cannot be whipped if he fights another battle, and then another battle, and another. So he moves on despite a dead horse and a broken sword."

The battles we encounter each day are large and fearsome within our individual world. Those battles will tempt us to yearn for the past and try forcing us to give up. Those battles may seem insurmountable as we look for a way out.

Time moves forward because no one has yet found a way to live in the past.

We may even look beyond today towards the future. Tomorrow is out there waiting for us and we may wish to skip today. But still the battle must be fought today. It is not a rehearsal for life. Today is a real thing that must be achieved so tomorrow can wait to be fought and won.

You can win the war for your future, while not guaranteed do not give up your future without a fight. Yesterday is just that, a past that can not be relived. Tomorrow is only a glimpse into what can be.

Today is the bridge between the two and it must be lived.

Live today in anticipation of success that will be achieved. Live today like success is here and now. And stay inspired my friends.

Start Tomorrow By Starting Today

#FallbackFriday

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day." - James Joyce

Each of us are a product of what we did yesterday. The things we did, what we ate, what we read, and how we treated people created the person who woke up today. It changed big things and little things about us and now in today's light, we must live with those changes in us.

The same thing will happen based upon how we approach today.

The news we read and the books we finish change us just a little bit. What happened to us at work or on the drive home modifies our personality slightly. How we reacted to all the events and people who passed through our world during the day have an impact.

We can make a resolution to change something about our life today.

But then we tell ourselves it can wait, tomorrow I will change. But tomorrow comes and you believe yourself to be the same person, but something has changed. You have created a person will to accept changes by putting it off. Even though we continually say we are going to do something with our life, it feels that change never happens.

To put off today until tomorrow.

But something did happen....you lost one more day, one more opportunity, one more chance to do something with your life. The you today might be similar to the you of yesterday, but there is less to show for it; less of what you want in life.

Yesterday creates nothing more or creates the start of everything for you.

Forget about yesterday and take hold of creating your tomorrow, today. Grab hold of the opportunity so that tomorrow when you wake up, a different you is slipping into those shoes and heading out the door. In order for that to happen, you must take steps today. It begins with making that first step.

One change today, changes the you of tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

Happy Today

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” - Unknown Author

Everyday that goes by is an opportunity to enjoy life regardless of your circumstance.

It doesn't mean you have to be satisfied with that circumstance. But in order to allow your self to move on from where you are, happiness in the current will turn to joy in the future.

Why be happy in the current though?

If you spend your day complaining of all that is wrong in your life, you will have very little time to work on moving towards what is right with your life.

Take the energy being expended in unhappiness today and use it to create a great day. Continue doing this each and every day. You will find yourself moving towards a better place in life, a greater happiness and more joy.

Stay inspired my friends.

Bring on the Day

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne

Each day brings a new beginning, a new opportunity to improve upon that which we experienced today.

You live your best effort during the present with the knowledge that tomorrow will be there waiting for you.

Charles M. Schulz, creator of the comic "Peanuts" said, most likely tongue-in-cheek, "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."

Tomorrow will come so live today trying all you can.

Improve yourself by the experience of yesterday and know a new day will bring fresh vision to your life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Consider Today

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

A verse that goes back through many ages but very applicable today.

We spend a lot of time worrying about tomorrow.

We forget to live what is at hand today.

An old saying goes, "Do not worry about tomorrow for it is already tomorrow in Australia." Rest assure there are folks already there worrying about their today.

Your future tomorrow will come soon enough.

Live today with the moments you are given.

Stay inspired my friends!

Home, It Will All Be Clear

"Seek home for rest, for home is best." ~ Thomas Tusser

Today is the day I am back home.
Today is the day I come off the road for a while.
Today is the day everything becomes clear once again.

Today is the day every one should come home.

Enjoy those moments with family and friends even though you have a busy life.

And stay inspired my friends.

Today is the Day

"Today, I'm leaving all my troubles behind." - Joe Pringle

Today is the day you will do it.

Yesterday it could have been done but it wasn't.

So make today the day you let it all go. Let the pain and indecision leave you forever.

Today is the day you will unload the pain and worry you have carried all these years. You will become more than what you or others have let yourself be.

There is nothing to hold you back and it starts today.

You are greater than the sum of all your worries and doubts. The only thing holding you back today is you. Let it go and get on with your life.

And today is when it will happen.

Today is the day...

Stay inspired my friends!

What You Do Today

“Remember today, for it is the beginning of always. Today marks the start of a brave new future filled with all your dreams can hold. Think truly to the future and make those dreams come true.” -Unknown

Today is the day that you can begin to make change.

It is a chance to take that first step towards your dream or goal.

But it begins with today, the first day of making movement occur in your life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Almost Never Happens

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." -Mark Twain

almost
Main Entry: al·most
Pronunciation: \ˈol-ˌmōst, ol-ˈ\
Function: adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ealmæst, from eall + mæst most
Date: before 12th century

: very nearly but not exactly or entirely

Yesterday, you almost called home to say hello to your mother. With a passing thought, you almost held a door open for someone carrying a package. Early this morning you almost had a conversation with your teenage child. Those things that we almost do in life but never seem to find the urge to actually do.

Your day goes by, then a week and eventually the year is nearly over. We think back and wonder at all of those things we missed doing. We feel that we came close, that we almost had the ability to do all of those meaningful things. But in our own self assessment, we know that almost really wasn't quite good enough.

The analogies one can use vary with many examples how almost results in things lost. In sports it might be said, "we almost made the winning touchdown." Yet the team still lost so almost doesn't quite cut it. In a political race, others may state, "we almost won the election." And once again, almost does not put the person into office.

Or the idea of almost completing your high school education. Almost does not make it easy to find a job or move ahead in life. There is also the big one, "I almost called to say hello," or for others, "I almost called to say I love you."

Life on earth is finite, and almost will turn into never being able to do those things. Find the time today to actually do those things that you know and feel need to be done. Do not put them off any longer, take the time now. Do not almost try it, actually accomplish and look back on all of those things you did complete.

Stay inspired my friends.

Release Your Fear

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." -Bill Cosby

My thoughts are simply, "step out of your fears today, to better position yourself for connection with others when you cross paths." Do not be afraid of placing yourself out there to experience change. To meet someone and later tell yourself, "if only I had...." will serve to keep you from achieving a better place in life. Release your fear of change today and look forward to your next encounter at the cross roads.

Stay inspired my friends.

Today

TODAY IS THE DAY

"Today, I'm leaving all my troubles behind." Today -By Joe Pringle

Today is the day you will do it. Yesterday it could have been done but it wasn't. So make today the day you let it all go. Let the pain and indecision leave you forever.

Today is the day you will unload the pain and worry you have carried all these years. You will become more then what you or others have let yourself be. There is nothing to hold you back and it starts today.

You are greater than the sum of all your worries and doubts. The only thing holding you back today is you. Let it go and get on with your life. And today is when it will happen.

Today is the day...

Today.

Here Today

"My today is both my yesterday and tomorrow." ~Joseph Primm

Recently I returned from a two week business trip to Asia. It was a very good trip and successful in what I was able to accomplish. As always though, it is good to be back home.

When traveling to that part of the world, the clock is roughly thirteen hours ahead of my normal time zone. So for the length of my stay, I tend to be half a day ahead in time. In the practical sense, you are a day ahead of those you normally hang around.

The change can have a dramatic effect upon your body. There is an appropriate scene in the movie "Lost in Translation" in which Bill Murray is sitting on his bed looking out the window. It is the middle of the night in Tokyo, but he is wide awake as if still sitting in the U.S.

The movie itself is not my wife's favorite, but I like it only because of the lost feeling one experiences during a dramatic time change.

Writer's note: The movie does not depict the writer's beliefs in how one handles the situation.

The feeling is one of not being in one's own present time. The balance of past, present and future is out of whack. You push through and do the right things, you tell yourself that its simply a time adjustment. But deep inside you feel you have missed something.

Upon returning home, my adjustment is normally pretty quick. Sure, a few nights of sleeping extra and getting back into the swing happen. Yet the feeling of slipping back into the normal comes quickly.

Its the idea that where you are now is where you are supposed to be. It is the balance of what has happened to you and the direction you are headed. We each live our lives the best we can.

We are products of our past but we should not live there. Also, we can not live in the future until we have fulfilled the present. Learn what you can from what has happened in your life and use today in preparation for a greater tomorrow.

Today

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. ~Albert Einstein

Today, leave all of your troubles behind, is a favorite line from a song that some of you might be familiar with.

Today, you can leave it all behind and move on to something greater.

Today, this is when you start a new life.

Today, you can begin with a new attitude, a new way, and a new you.

Today