PEBBLE
Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. May you live all the days of your life.
-Jonathan Swift, shared by Alison in San Francisco, CA
BOULDER
The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it’s a brand-new sun. It’s born each morning, it lives for the duration of one day, and in the evening it passes on, never to return again. As soon as the children are old enough to understand, the adults take them out at dawn and they say, “The sun has only one day. You must live this day in a good way, so that the sun won’t have wasted precious time.” Acknowledging the preciousness of each day is a good way to live, a good way to reconnect with our basic joy.
-Pema Chödrön, The Wisdom of No Escape, shared by Pete in Colorado
BOULDER
While science tells us the sun that we see in the sky today is in fact the same ball of gas that was there yesterday, I think it is also accurate that this is the only day that the sun will be exactly as it is. It was a little different yesterday, and it will be a little different tomorrow. The same is true for us humans.
It is true that you and I were alive and present here on earth yesterday, and will hopefully still be here tomorrow. Today, however, is the only day we will be this particular version of us. Whatever time you are reading Ripples right now, yesterday at this same time you were one day younger and you hadn’t had the particular life experiences that yesterday held. Whatever happens during the rest of today is part of the future for the you that exists right now, but if Tomorrow You comes back and reads this, the events of today will be part of your past. I’m not gonna fib: if I ponder this too long my mind starts getting lost!
My goal in sharing this today isn’t to freak you out or overwhelm you with complicated science and philosophy and such. Instead, I just want to remind us all to Embrace Each Day with all of its possibilities: learning, laughing, languishing…whatever will help us make it through today and perhaps allow us to greet tomorrow’s sun with a little more wisdom and a little more grace. #WeGotThis (((💙)))
Peace,
Paul
P.S. It wasn’t until I was putting the finishing touches on this issue that I realized just how much it was influenced by a novel I mentioned a couple weeks ago in Ripples #1146 (https://mailchi.mp/unleashripples/r1146). Several people have since shared that it was a significant read for them as well. Our collective advice: if you’ve been struggling with regrets or you’d like a powerful reminder to Embrace Each Day, we strongly suggest a trip to The Midnight Library (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08543NK7K)
