The Best Time is Now! (2)

"And what if the tomorrow that I take for granted never comes? Or what if tomorrow is my last day on earth?"

Martha, an old woman of 85, was obsessed with thoughts like these. She lived alone in her big apartment, surrounded by objects from her past.

She would worry all night long, getting up to walk around, then returning to her empty bed, turning the thoughts over and over in her mind like a dog gnawing an old bone. She did it so much that finally her fear turned into wisdom.

The next morning she made herself a promise. "I am going to live each and every day as if it were my last! That's the only way to really enjoy life."

Now Martha reads a lot and spends less time dusting old furniture. She admires the flowers in her garden without worrying too much about the weeds that crop up here and there.

She invites people she likes to her home, but doesn't sit there waiting for them to arrive. And when they do arrive, she uses her best china to serve tea and cake, without worrying about a precious cup or plate getting dirty or being broken.

She's started wearing the beautiful red cashmere jacket her grandchildren gave her for Christmas. She even wears it to go out walking, and puts a dab of her best perfume behind her ears.

But most importantly, Martha has stopped saying, "I'll do that one day, when I have the time."

Now she says, "If it's worth doing, I'm going to do it now!"

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Like Martha, you too should think about what you'd do if someone said, "This is your last day on earth!"

You would realize that priorities fall into place naturally, that many things resolve themselves and that whatever is superfluous in your life disappears. Don't wait for the day when tragedy strikes to force you to consider what it is you really want to do in life.

"At each and every moment, the future is pressuring the present to become the past." - Aragon

From www.positive-club.com