The Best Day of Your Life

Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday.

I am not sure just where I read these words, nor can I claim them as my own. However, what I can do is to claim the simple message they convey and embrace it as part of the foundation on which to rest the pillars of my life. This powerful metaphor works to remind me of the value of embracing each day as a fresh start; each morning I wake up as the first day of my new life. As simple as this philosophical approach may seem, it is without question one of the hardest stances to take in life, for it seems that the challenges and the problems and the issues that confront us are always conspiring to keep us in their grasp, holding on so tightly that we forget the small and wondrous things that also inspire and uplift us and bring us joy.

The Ocean is a Delightful Source of Renewal

Realizing this, I have decided to make a commitment to seek out and hold onto optimism and make that a deliberate focus of each day. It is simple. While I face the challenges, the disappointments and heartaches, I also examine ways in which I can tackle them and accept with gratitude, that there are strategies and approaches I can utilize to lessen their impact and perhaps even to conquer them. I now stand up to that nagging voice that insists that being a midlife adult I should have it all figured out. Confronting that voice, I hold myself accountable to examine opportunities for celebration in any day and to lift them up and enjoy the splendid pleasure of doing so: The feel of the sun on my back while walking through the park; the sound of a baby’s gurgle; the butterflies flittering around in my backyard and the unexpected words of a love song on the radio connecting to deep primal chords within. How wonderful that these sensory delights are abundant and free!!! Driving to work this week, anticipating a meeting I would rather not participate in, I turned the radio on to hear the uplifting refrain, “Gonna make this the best day of my life. Life…life!!!” I simply turned the dial up and bounced my head around to the beat knowing that this wonderful feeling was my mine to grasp and hold onto all day. And indeed, I did.