My Greatest Lesson - 2011.

2012……

A new year.

The days can be long, but the years are short.

I’ve been reflecting a bit on 2011. I am pleased with the year. I think I did it better than 2010. That is all we can really ask for – to grow, to learn, to be a bit better today than we were yesterday.

I believe the greatest lesson I learned in 2011 was to live each day like it is my last because it is.

I know this sounds simple, but it never really imprinted itself on my soul until sometime around the end of summer 2011.

The lesson is……

This is my last (insert today’s date). I will never get to live today over. The seconds, the minutes, the hours they fly by never to be recaptured.

I have always had this keen sense of the passage of time. My mom attributes it to nearly dying at birth. Still this year the fleeting nature of existence became more tangible, I began attacking the fact that life flies by with practical solutions.

About three or four years ago when I was going through a rough time my mom bought me a coffee mug with the verse, “This is the day The Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” written on the inside rim. Every morning as I drank my coffee I was reminded that having a good day is an act of will and not a whim of circumstantial, cosmic good fortune.

This was powerful. I believe that coffee cup was a significant key to pulling out of that rough patch.

I also believe that this was a time of early seed planting for the flower of wisdom that bloomed this year.

Four years to incubate…..

Never the less, it did bloom and that is the main thing!!!

When it clicked that today is my only chance, there are no do overs. I began each day different, I not only recited the above verse, I started to vocalize (quietly in my head) that today is my last (insert date), I asked God to guide me through to speak to me and allow me to be His eyes, ears, mouth, hand and feet. Please, God help me to live today well. I am filled with a sense of urgency, that today is important no matter how routine or ordinary it looks. That essentially life is ordinary, routine days strung together like words in a novel. Our thoughts and more importantly our intention have a powerful impact on the outcome of each days story.

This has been life changing in so many practical areas.

I could give examples every day. Moments when I feel out of sorts, angry, frustrated and I am reminded that today is it, do I really want one blip to turn into a day long ordeal?? Do I really want today to pass by, only to be reflected on as squandered with negativity???? The answer is always a resounding NO!

At the end of each day I take a moment to think about the day. To pull out the seconds, minutes (God forbid), hours wasted. To figure out what choices I made that directly led to that waste. To ask God to reveal to me how I can do it better tomorrow.

Conscious reflection, before and after each day has changed my overall perspective. I believe that I am better for it. I feel happier and more productive, even on days of illness or relaxation with little “productivity”.

Many arguments, hard feelings, snappiness, and self pity have been halted in their tracks with the simple question – is this really how I want to spend today???

I think we can read many, many words of wisdom for many, many years and not really get it until The Spirit writes it in stone on our hearts. I am so thankful for this tidbit of divine wisdom.

I look forward to 2012 to continuing to do better each day (I pray), to maybe learning another life changing lesson…………..