Dying is only one thing to be unhappy about. Living unhappily is another.
MORRIE SCHWARTZ
What do you do in your life to make every single day count?
We become so myopically focused on the items we need to resolve in order get ever closer to the goals we wish to achieve, the issues that are facing us and the projections of everything that we still wish to see our lives amount to, that sometimes we take our eye off the ball and stop looking at each day as being as precious and as valuable as it truly is.
The continuous pursuit of all of these issues, whose principal residence is somewhere in our imagined future, rob us on a very regular basis of our core enjoyment of the present.
In those hopes, fears and expectations, we are brainwashing ourselves from an appreciation of all that we have, and instead, aligning all of our consciousness with fantasies or fears of the future.
Even if all of those fantasies are going to ultimately come to fruition, there is still the undeniable reality that they themselves are not a part of the present moment.
As we become all the more in alignment with this thought process and allow all of those thoughts to take their respective residence in one segment of our being, we open up the opportunity to reawaken to numerous other perspectives, many of which might appear right in front of our eyes, if we were only aware enough to appreciate them.
Our internal compass guides us in myriad ways, but with regular alignments, that compass might allow for an extraordinary appreciation of things that might at first outset, seem immaterial… like the beauty of the sunlight reflecting off the petals of a gorgeous flower or the taste of the first sip of coffee in the morning or the luminous smile on a young child’s face or the enjoyment of seeing the sun breaking through the clouds.
When you are aware, and you are taking the time to clearly understand how and why each and every one of our days walking this planet is precious, you might be less willing or desirous of mortgaging any one of those days in favor of a worry, fear, fantasy or trepidation.
Today’s aphorism comes from the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. When I first read this book, I was so enamored with Morrie’s philosophy. For me, it was one of those genuine moments of “when the student is ready, the master appears.” Years later, I was so fortunate to market the movie made from this book which was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions, and won 4 Emmy Awards…. Outstanding Movie Made For Television Movie and Lead Actor in a Mini Series or Movie for Jack Lemmon, Supporting Actor in a Mini Series or Movie for Hank Azaria, and Outstanding Single Camera Editing for Carol Littleton.
If you take the time to read the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, or watch the movie on YouTube your life will be forever changed. There is something extraordinary about Morrie‘s perspective that I believe everyone should take the time to understand and appreciate.
Please share if you feel the same.
Happy Friday!
Brian Weiner 