You Have Today

So many expressions and sayings are running through my head right now that I don't know where to begin this.  We've heard them all and although we understand their meaning, I have to wonder if we FEEL their meaning as well?

Live for the moment.

Carpe Diem.

Why put off til tomorrow, what you can do today.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

What none of these expressions and sayings are conveying is that the future is unknown to us.  No one knows what tomorrow will bring.  We don't even know with absolute certainty, what the next minute will bring.  Life comes at us so fast.  That is only truly realized when we look back at it all and reflect.  When we are thinking ahead to our future, everything seems so far away.  But in a blink of an eye, what seemed so distant, flashes by us and we think "Where did all the time go?" 

We were once children playing dodge ball in the playground.  We were once students at our graduations.  Some of us once were first time terrified parents.   Now those tiny little fragile children have grown and we think.... They grow so fast.

Everything in our lives is a blessing.  Every second is a gift.  Enjoy it all.  For even after a moment passes by in a flash, it is still yours to hold in your memory and in your heart.  Tomorrow is beyond unpredictable.   It is not promised to anyone.  You have today.  The here and the now.   Make the most of each opportunity.  Give your heart to your dreams.  Don't waste a single moment under the belief that there's always tomorrow.  Most likely we all have many tomorrows coming our way, but nothing in life is guaranteed except the end of it.

There is a Starbucks where I work and visit frequently.  One of the supervisors/managers there is a very pleasant young man named Cesar.  Cesar always shared a pleasant smile and conversation whenever I came in.  In those conversations, I learned Cesar was working very hard toward his and his girlfriends future life together.  Yesterday, at the age of 27, Cesar died in a motorcycle accident.  He was not sick.  He was not murdered.  He was not killed in some horrific act of violence or nature.  At 27 years old, his future ended.  When I was told about the accident, all I could see in my mind was his smile.  I did not know him outside of his workplace but knowing that a smile that sincere is gone forever, makes me realize even more how much I need to appreciate today.