“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of which never happened.” Michel de Montaigne

It is reported that the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote a letter to his daughter who was worried over a mistake she’d made. We would do well today to heed the simple counsel he gave her:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders, losses, and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; let today go so you can begin tomorrow well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. Each new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.”

One of the greatest absurdities of our modern day living, in a culture fraught with fear, anxiety and worry, is that we are often consumed with the mistakes we have made, and in the same breath we are so overwhelmed with the challenges that may lie ahead, that we are unable to enjoy the present day in which we actually live.

Here’s a simple yet classic example – your rent is due on the first of every month. Today is the 15th of the month and yet you are already worried about how you will cover the new month’s payment instead of enjoying the days you have already paid for!

Every new day is an opportunity to live with passion, determination and excitement. And whatever you are going to be doing today, do it with all the zeal you can muster. Enjoy the day, embrace it, and give no thought to the woes of yesteryear or the cares of tomorrow.

In the timeless words of the inspiring Rabbi from Galilee, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)

Enjoy every single moment you have been given!