There’s Only Now

Everything begins with the first breath.
So breathe.
Everything begins at the first step or the first movement. In some cases, everything begins with the first time we open our eyes or the first time we feel our heartbeat (or the way it stops, depending upon the situation).

There is the undeniable truth that so much of our life and all that comes with life is far beyond our control. There is truth to the fact that we cannot change the past. We cannot redo or relive a moment, regardless to whether the moment was good or bad. We cannot relitigate the past or recreate it. All we have is this moment, which is now, seconds before the sunrise on a Saturday morning at 4:42am. 

Best believe that yes, yesterday happened.
Understand that this is both unchangeable, unfixable and unalterable.

Rest assured there will never be another chance to relive this day.
Rest assured that even if we find ourselves in the same place tomorrow and even if we are surrounded by the same circumstances, nothing is the same, which means we are not the same; which means we have the chance to do something new, even if we don’t see how.

We have the chance to either invent or reinvent ourselves each and every day. We can stand up and walk. We can move. We can live and we can build. We can laugh and we can cry. However, above all things that we can do, the first thing we do begins with the first breath we take. This starts with the first movement or the first step or in whichever way possible, breaking it down to this: life is simple math and starting now, this is where we count from.

How many times have we been faced with adversity? How many times have we fallen or been insulted or hurt? How many times have we lost something important or someone close to us and then wondered to ourselves; how much more do I have to lose?

What would it look like if we removed the ideas of wins and losses?
What would life be like if the focus was more about our effort and less about the outcome? And as a result, we just worked on living our life, one day at a time. How would that be?

If all we have is now and the only thing real is this very moment, then the past is only a memory and tomorrow is only a plan, a fantasy, or a prediction, which means this moment is far more important than anything else in the world.

I see us this way sometimes, all too weak and weary. All too concerned with circumstances far beyond our control. I see myself this way. I see you this way. I see all of us this way.
All of us are looking to that “Dare to be great” situation.
We all have hopes and dreams and desires.
We all have doubts and fears and moments of despair. 

I go back to the idea which is I truly believe the way we live, think, act and respond is a result of the way we see ourselves. And sometimes the way we see ourselves is inaccurate. Sometimes the way we see ourselves is based on the circumstances of our past, or our past responses, or the times we failed or fell so hard and deeply that it seemed like we would never be able to stand up straight again. 

I go back to the idea that our worth is sometimes compromised because the reflection we see of ourselves is somehow distorted by a false perception of who we really are, which is degrading because who we are is truly miraculous.
I go back to the idea of our personal inaccuracies and the reflection we see of ourselves that somehow fails our eyes and acts like an injustice. 

There is momentum in this.
Actually, there is momentum in everything we do. Even if we do nothing, then by doing nothing, this has a way of building momentum.
Sooner or later, the world wraps around us.
We lose another minute. We waste another day and our list of resentments pile up. Our reasons for regret seem to pick up speed and take us nowhere. 

Everything we do has meaning. For every action there is a reaction. Yet sometimes, there are people that live nothing else but reactionary lives. They respond or retaliate. Everything is on the defense. There is no forward motion but more; there is only a desperate plea to keep from moving backwards, which only results in people losing ground.

They say that acceptance is the key to moving on and moving forward. The only problem is in the face of pain, the idea of facing disappointments can become a habitual thought. And sometimes we do nothing else but expect this. We wait for the other shoe to drop. We wait for the next thing to go wrong. We feel the threat of the impending doom which, in all honesty, can become crippling.

I see us this way sometimes. I see us as all too weary because of choices we made that we can never unmake or undo. I see us living in the past and living according to a bias that suggests this is all we could ever be. 

If everything in life could restart right now and all that we learned from our mistakes and all that has happened has shaped our next decision; tell me, what would you do differently with your life if given the opportunity?
The truth is we are free to have this choice, each and every single morning we wake up. The truth is we have the chance to be great every single day; however, the fact remains that we are faced with circumstances beyond our control, each and every single day.

There is not and will not be a second chance to live this moment. Therefore, if now is all I have then perhaps now would be a good time to take that first breath. Now is the time to take that first step or make that first movement towards making our life the life we want to have. 

Now is the time to refuse to settle or negotiate or compromise for less than our worth because now is the time to live up to our best possible potential.
Now is the time to make this moment more than just a memory. Now is the time to be heroic to ourselves; to be our own best support; to be our own best friend. Now is the time to see the sunrise and make this day work for us to the best of our possible ability.

Now-

This is all we have

Might as well live for it

Know what I mean?