I don’t know about you, but I keep thinking…”I can’t wait ‘til this Coronavirus thing is over so I can start enjoying life again.”
But I have to keep reminding myself. This is my life.
Life is always going to have challenges and disappointments.
We can’t wait for some imagined future to be happy.
Fr. Alfred D. D’Souza said it best, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”
Our goal should be to enjoy every day.
Here’s a list of my 10 favorite quotes relating to living in the present moment.
- This is the only day I’ve got. Why would I want to have a bad one?
- Each day should be considered a gift and treated that way.
- We will be held accountable for all the permitted pleasures we failed to enjoy. (The Talmud)
- Avoid saying, “I’d be happy when…” or I can’t wait to…so I can be happy.”
- Every moment that’s ever been, or ever will be, is gone the instant it’s begun. So life is loss. And the secret of happiness is to learn to love the moment more than you mourn the loss. (Dan Baker)
- The only way to experience genuine and lasting contentment, satisfaction, and happiness is to learn to live your life in the present moment.
- Enjoy life…it has an expiration date.
- Don’t get caught up on where you’d rather be that you forget to make the most of where you are now.
- The longest-lived and those who will die soonest lose the same thing. The present is all that they can give up, since that is all you have, and what you do not have, you cannot lose. (Marcus Aurelius)
And finally from Steve Jobs’ Commencement address Samford University 2005.
- When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
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David Sher is Co-Founder of AmSher Compassionate Collections. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@amsher.com.
