Several day ago I was playing fetch with our big Saint Bernard dog, Buddy. I was
tossing a ball down the hallway of our home and watching with delight while
Buddy chased it down and brought it back. Just as I was throwing the ball for
the third time, however, our littlest dog, Julie raced by me with Buddy’s
favorite stuffed animal in her mouth. Poor Buddy didn’t know what to do. He
started to go after his ball and then turned to get his stuffed animal from
Julie and then turned again to get the ball. In the end, he just sat on the
floor unable to decide or act.
I think that sometimes a lot of us end up like my big, confused dog when it
comes to living our lives. We spend half of our time, energy, and thoughts
regretting the mistakes we have made in our past and we spend the other half of
our time, energy, and thoughts worrying about the future. In the end, we too
find ourselves just sitting on the floor unable to live today.
If we want to really live we have to live today. If we want to really love we
have to love today. If we want to really be happy we have to be happy today. God
designed us to live one day at a time. It is we who mess up our lives by
carrying our past mistakes into our hearts and minds with each new day. It is we
who mess up our lives by letting fears of things that haven’t even happened yet
eat away at the joy in our souls today.
God loves us and God wants us to fully live each new day we are given. As the
new year approaches then let us all join God in forgiving our past, trust God as
we build our future, and be one with God as we choose and share love and joy
today. Today, after all, really is the only day we have. And as it says from the
sanskirt: "Today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and
every tomorrow a vision of hope."
Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com
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