Living Your Best Life? "There are only so many tomorrows."

"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying.
Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day.
Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now!
There are only so many tomorrows."
Pope Paul VI

by Skip Cohen

Eight years ago I wrote my first "Sunday Morning Reflections." The premise has never changed - it's my day to run amuck. In my second Reflections post I wrote, As usual, I'm off track - far from the topic of photography. However, if you're joining me then you already know the direction I take on Sunday mornings. And, from your response it seems the more I go off track, the better. 

I went digging through my archives this morning and here's what I wrote eight years ago in one of my first posts in the Sunday series:

As I've gotten older I've noticed how fast time seems to fly by. I'm aware of how quickly one memory seems to melt into another, and another. I've found myself caring about things that never mattered and being concerned about issues that always seemed so far removed.

The current scare over the flu epidemic is a perfect example since I'm now old enough to be close to the danger zone. In fact, just watching the news and seeing one tragedy after another has me holding Sheila just a little tighter when we snuggle up at night. 

None of us know what tomorrow will bring, and that takes me to my point this morning. We've got to do the best job we can of living our lives to the fullest. There's a unique level of awareness that comes with age. I realize just how short life really is, and how fast time literally flashes by.

It's fine to recognize things you should have done differently in the past, but life isn't about what's in your rearview mirror. It's about the journey ahead of you. Learn from your regrets and move on to that next special moment.

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." 
John Barrymore

Looking back eight years, the only thing I remember about the flu epidemic is all the hand sanitizer stations everywhere at the hotel at IUSA in Nashville. Since then, we've lived through the pandemic, which none of us could have imagined in 2018. And, we're witnessing an increase in childhood diseases like measles, which for my generation disappeared years ago.

These days, when I hug Sheila "just a little tighter," it's usually after watching the news, not health issues! The world is upside down with a government that's forgotten about "We the People." I remember hearing somebody commenting after the last election that they were going to live in a snow globe for the next four years. Well, we love our "snow-globe," the life we've built, and do our best to maintain.

And living a life with no regrets is virtually impossible. The key is to keep your regrets in perspective, living for today and tomorrow, and accepting that nothing can change yesterday. We still have our dreams, visions, and goals. Sure, I creak a little more than I did eight years ago when I first get up in the morning, and I move a little slower...but I still refuse to act my age!

Wishing you a day filled with peace, love, and memory-making moments. Take the time to remind those people most important to you of the special role they play in your life. Go for those therapeutic eleven-second hugs. And, just to play off of one of my favorite sunset photographs above - great sunsets can't be a part of your life if you don't take the time to look at them.

Happy Sunday...or Monday, if you're on the other side of the world.