October 2016 - Laura Buckley

Each morning I need to choose how I want to live my life today. The choice is entirely mine.

So how do I want to live my life today?

A few years ago I came across some literature from Alcoholics Anonymous titled “Just for Today”. One of the statements reads like this:

“JUST FOR TODAY I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, keep my voice low, be courteous, criticize not one bit. I won’t find fault with anything, and not try to improve or regulate anybody except myself.”

I printed this out and placed it prominently by my desk. Each day I am reminded how I want to live today. Is it that easy? No it’s not. It is a new commitment to myself every morning. It is an active decision I make.

Looking back on my life over the past few years I have come to realise that making this conscious choice each morning, by committing myself anew each day, has had a tremendously positive impact on my life. Slowly but surely abrupt rudeness has given way to courteousness. My unkempt appearance has cleaned up significantly. My desire to control other people has dissipated and been replaced with greater self-control and regulation. These changes did not take place overnight. They have been so gradual it’s only when I stop, look back, take stock, do I notice the improvements that have come about in my life.

There are folk who have only met me in recent years. Some do not believe I was once such an obnoxious person to interact it. And obnoxious I was! Have I changed or was I always that “Just for Today” person waiting to come out?

There is an old saying that a leopard can’t change its spots inferring that a person cannot change who they are. I know this, I am not a leopard! I am a person. As such I can choose my attitude. I can change my mind. I can change my decisions. I can choose my outlook on life. I can expand my world-view. I can choose to change.

I don’t care to worry much about leopards and their spots. I care to look in the mirror each morning and choose how I’m going to live just for today.

Yours in lifelong learning,

Laura

I have prepared my whole life for today. This is what I say to myself each morning I get out of bed. Think about it. Each day, each moment, is a learning and growing opportunity preparing us for today.

Too many of us get up in the morning and don’t give much thought about how we have prepared ourselves for today. I’m not just talking about having a list of tasks to tick off on completion throughout our day. I’m talking about being prepared for living today. Not living in the past, nor living in the future.

As I write this I have lived 16 338 days (How Many Days have I lived Calculator). That’s a lot of preparation for today.

Today I will learn new lessons and thus be better prepared for tomorrow. I live in each moment. I pay attention to how I react, what I do, what I say, how I say it. I draw on all of my preparation and experience to live today to the fullest, then improve on that for tomorrow.

The challenge to me is to find the right lessons in each moment of today. By being aware of this I prepare myself for each future step I take on this journey of life.

I am fully aware tomorrow is never promised. Tomorrow might never dawn for me. But I set my alarm clock each night in hope and faith. When tomorrow dawns I will have prepared for 16 339 days for the new day ahead.

Too often we are so caught up in planning for our future, dreaming dreams of future success, we lose sight of living today. Don’t get me wrong, planning for our future, working towards future goals is both necessary and good. Don’t forget about living in the moment that is today. Celebrate all that today has to offer.

I have prepared my whole life for today.

Prepared my whole life for today

Yours in lifelong learning,

Laura