I prickled when I heard the advice, "live each day," as a young person. I was future driven for many good reasons. I needed to move ahead, change, build a life that was akin to the who I was and what I was meant to do in this world. So to "live each day" wasn't enough for me, to me that advice signaled complacency and the call to exist within the narrow, biased walls of my life so long ago.
Instead, with imagination as my sail, I moved away from the day as it was in very clumsy ways seeking a future that was a match for my dreams, values, and personality. The journey, while not easy, was rightly directed. Yes, it was filled with error, but the direction and intention were good--I wanted to travel to this place for all the right reasons, but I often didn't know exactly how to get there.
Now so many years later, that advice, "live each day," rings true because I'm in a good place--a place that is truthful to me, a place that includes a loving family, a cozy home, nature, and good opportunity to do my work well as a teacher and community member.
To live each day now means morning reflection, teaching well, research, planning, prep, and spending good times with those I love outdoors, at museums, watching movies, playing games, and discussing life events, dreams, and plans.
We're all at different places in this world of ours. Advice that fits one's life well may not be good advice for another. I think of this with regard to my students. Some follow the routine seamlessly--it's a fit for who they are and what they want. Others fight the school routine because it's not a fit--how can I better organize the day and events for those students?
Life's journey is never dull, and it's important that we all find the mantras that lead us to the happiness, potential, and good living life affords. Onward.
