Just Thoughts and Nothing Else

"Living for Today"

When you think about the saying “Live for today”, is that how people should really live? Is that how you should care about life? Do you have time to do things any other way?
I think that when you live for today and to hell with what’s going to happen tomorrow you still find things that you wish you still had the chance to do. I think that even living with that kind of reckless abandon, this happens.
Then if you live your life saving for the future and don’t live a few moments in the present enjoying and living life to the fullest, you’ll have regrets too.

So what’s the answer? Where and when do you stop being a workaholic and start saying time is of the essence and I need to make sure I live this moment, and take the time to smell the roses and save a little bit of time to worry about my future too.
How do we understand that life is too short and maybe there won’t be time when we finally allow for time to be had!

I think some men do this a lot. I think they take on responsibilities and undue stress and work load because that is what they think they must do. Is it though?
Do they really ever learn to live and let go and say no once in a while to work?
Do they really know how to stop and smell the roses? Do they know how to relax other than just escape for a brief moment? Do they know that they are entitled to it? Just as they are entitled to have love and laughter in their lives they are entitled to have relaxation for a week or two every year! It's part of something called stopping for the moment....

Then I hear other men say, to hell with all of it and I’m not saving for my future and I’m going to live for today only! Is that the way to go? I think that’s a good philosophy in theory, but not the answer either.

Some people who don’t worry about tomorrow, end up not having a tomorrow either. They wake up one morning and find that the tomorrow is now here and they have nothing put away to enjoy their tomorrows. They no longer have that job to provide for their retirement or that ability to have a job past retirement age and now they can’t enjoy the later years in their lives because they have nothing but their memories that they lived well while they could. Hmmmmmmm.

It all sort of reminds me of moms who put their lives on hold because they’ve got families to take care of and raise. Let’s put our careers on hold because my children need me more right now.
Let me do this before I can do this for me. I don’t need that because the kids need shoes or medicine, or books or college degrees.
So what’s the answer? When and how much living should you be doing?
How much of your life do you sacrifice hoping that there will be a tomorrow to worry about? How many times do you say to yourself, I’ve got time and I'm a healthy person so I'll be able to do the things I’ve planned when my future does come.

Will you be that lucky? Will your tomorrow really come?
Or will it ever? Because tomorrow will be today when tomorrow actually gets here.

My thoughts have been affected by lots of things and it changed how I thought the process should go, and mostly because while I was waiting for tomorrow to come and I put all kinds of things aside in my life foolishly thinking I had that tomorrow due me, it suddenly came and I was not prepared for it at all. I wasn’t living so much for the moment, but putting my needs last, my wishes last, my life on hold, always allowing time for the kids, time for my husband, time for never saying no to anyone.

But life changes in an instant and I know that first hand. You just don’t know what’s going to happen to you in your life. Sometimes it goes great and you can handle it all, and other times you can’t.

So sometimes when I think of people who say they aren’t going to enjoy all that life has to offer today, that worries me a little, and yet I wonder if they really have the real answers. I just don’t think so. I think you are allowed to live a little for today and still be logical enough to know that you you have to save for your future as well.

But the way I see it, life is too short to waste time, or to do without something that might be important to you or your family, make your moments in life happen because you made time for them and you didn't always put them on hold for the sake of being that bread winner or that workaholic.

It’s all about not just escaping so that you can survive another month or so of work, but knowing that you have something to look forward to and that if you work hard, you should always be allowed to play hard and do both with all the gusto you can.
What I mean by escaping is just grabbing a quick weekend just to have peace just so you can face the world again and your hectic schedule, but you should be allowed that as well, and it should not be the only thing you allow yourself because of demands you put on yourself and being the person that you are.

I personally don’t like having regrets that I didn’t take that vacation, because I’ve been there before.
I do deserve it and I do deserve life today, because that vacation that I waited for, may not come on that day we call tomorrow, and my question would then be; will I be well enough, strong enough, agile enough to do all I was capable of doing today while I was just working and putting my life on hold?

So Jan says, “Live for today with just a bit of caution, take your moments when you can that set you free, and always remember that planning for your future is a very good thing, but living for today is equally important because we never know what tomorrow may bring nor do we know if it will be there when we finally arrive!

The old saying is “Time waits for No one” That sure is a true statement, and it really makes you think about time you waste. But it also makes you understand that time is a valuable asset and assets are a very desirable thing. js

By: Janice