Making the most of every day should be a priority on everybody’s to-do list. As singer Willie Nelson once put it, “I have a wonderful future behind me”. This is not a pessimistic way to live – far from it, it’s a valuable reminder not to waste life on unimportant issues.
Of course, life is unpredictable, and people face challenges emotionally, spiritually and mentally, but even in the face of adversity we should not think ourselves into a new way of living, but rather live yourself into a new way of thinking. William Blake captured it beautifully when he said, “The mind altering alters all.” This is a practical and pragmatic way to live life – to know that as humans, we can alter our life by altering our thinking.
The late mystic and poet, John O’ Donohue, had a compelling philosophy on ways of altering your life. He encouraged humans to delve into the cloud of unknowing and to search the soul for the seven thoughts that govern, shape and determine your life. Such an exercise would force the imagination to go places it has never gone before, but in order to have a meaning in your life you yourself must give life meaning.
There is no future in the past and no safety in the future, but when you live life moment by moment, you realise that is all you really have. Life is not a problem to be solved but rather an experience to be had. By cherishing and living in the moment – it is the ticket to freedom and peace of mind. We can’t take anything with us in life, not even our pains and struggles. We all leave with an empty suitcase. Each day is a gift, do not send it back unopened.
This is taken from our summer issue of Positive Life. Get a year’s subscription to the print magazine for €15 >
