When you think about all those yesterdays building up in your past, what do you see? Are you busy with things that in the end amount to nothing, or are you working towards some greater goal in your life?
Recently I've thought about that in my life and took stock of where I'm at and what I'm all about. Call it a midlife crisis, reflection...whatever. I've come to think on my life, on my situation and what I can do better or what I need to get rid of.
Life is fleeting. Yeah the cliche sounds stale at times, but hear me out. We are not guaranteed a minute, not to mention a long life. We have no absolute promise that tomorrow will be there for us. So with those thoughts real and honest, what do we do with our time?
Ever look back at your past, at all those yesterdays, and wonder what have you done? Every once in awhile I'll sit back and consider what I've done and what opportunities I've missed out on and I can't help but wonder what more could I have accomplished.
It's so easy to make a decision that turns out to be short sighted and determined by our immediate circumstances rather than the long haul. It's natural I guess for us to look at life that way, but if we were to look at the larger landscape of our life, we'd probably do things differently.
Without having a promise of tomorrow, why should we think in terms of the long haul when we need to get all that we can now and in the moment? Well, the easy answer is to look back at your yesterdays. What did you do with the gift of life you were given? Did you squander it on meaningless pursuits, or did you try to accomplish something noble and worthwhile?
As an example, let me illustrate from something in my life. I spent many, many hours playing video games. They were (and still are) a fun diversion from the realities we face everyday. I've scoured the lands of Skyrim, I've helped Master Chief dispatch of the Covenant, and I've helped Delta Squad through hordes and hordes of Locusts. Looking back at my yesterdays, what has all that accomplished for me other than short sighted diversion? All of those hours (I logged over 100 hours in Skyrim alone) could have been used for something much more productive.
I could have read more books, I could've written more, I could've tried to improve my life or home or community. The point is, the time spent playing those games will amount to nothing in the end. When my tombstone is created and they put the dash between 1974 and whatever year I'm called out of here, it will not stand for hours of video games played.
And I don't mean to pick on games, I love them and have great enjoyment from them. It was just an example from my life. For you, it might be some other meaningless pursuit.
What I hope you take away is this: live your life fully and with a purpose. Don't short change yourself. We only have so many days and years in this life. Don't go to the end regretting what you didn't do in your yesterdays. You're never too young or too old to get started.
