A Day is a Lifetime

A single day can be a lifetime

Tim Connor

Many people take each day that they are given for granted.  They assume that they have time to play, work, love and just enjoy all of the gifts they are given each minute of every day.  As I look back over the past year I can tell you that a day can be a lifetime filled with wonderful memories or riddled with regret, disappointment and unfulfilled dreams, desires and painful memories.  It can also be spent taking the positives from the past into each new moment with faith, confidence and passion.

I don’t know how many years have passed for you as you read this article but I can tell you that no matter your age, experience, gender, race or nationality that you too have squandered many of the days you have been given.  Squandered with guilt, worry, aimlessness, grief and possibly the frustration that your life just isn’t or hasn’t been quite the way you would like it or have liked it.  Welcome to the largest club in the world – the “I wish things were different” club.

As I was driving to the post office this morning, a thought occurred to me, one that I’ve had numerous times in the past, but for some reason today it resonated with me more than at any other time – each breath and each heartbeat is a miracle.  The mere fact that I am still alive, when so many of my peers and friends have passed away far too soon I might add,  and I can still see, think, feel, love, plan, hope and just be in the flow of life for another day.  Wow, what a gift.

As I was pondering this thought another occurred to me – as I look back over the many relationships I’ve had during my life, I had to wonder, how many of these people saw the time we shared as a gift or did they see it as just the passage of time, one day after another until what was, ended whether badly or positively isn’t the issue here. How they ended doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but were they filled with joy or sadness and regret for what was in each moment at a time while they were active?

Life begins, moves on and ends.  What really matters is what you do with the gift of time between the beginning and its ending.  So, back to the title – A single day can be a lifetime or it can just be another day.  We make the assumption that we will all have 25,000 days or 600,000 hours (about 70 years) of life.  Subtract 200,000 hours from this total (sleeping time) and you are left with around 400,000 hours or about 16,000 days.  When you think about it, that’s not very many days to live if you squander many of them with worry, stress, frustration, anger, resentment etc.

Each day is a lifetime.  Think of it this way.  If today was your last day, it would be your life.  Yes, you’d have lots of memories, achievements, work done and undone, but in the end would it all really matter?

What I’m suggesting here is that from now on rather then seeing each day as just a day, but as the summation of your life and all of its elements – relationships, financial, spiritual etc.  Living each day as if it is your entire life may change how you live all your remaining days.  Think about it as this year comes to a close . . .