Salespeople love the old, "For Today Only," ploy. It's a pressure ploy I don't enjoy, and so I rarely respond. However, if we were to transform that sense of urgency into excitement instead, there's a great truth here:

"Today is the only day you have to spend... today!"

This Monday is New Year's Eve – a natural day to think about the year behind us and the future ahead.

Suddenly, unbidden, a line from Kung Fu Panda comes flooding into my mind, "Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift – which is why we call it, 'the present'." I've tweaked the words slightly because their origins, themselves, are clouded in mystery!

I don't know what the past months, or even years, have been like for you – though I know some of the events experienced by some of you who read this blog. On balance, all those yesterdays may have been good, or they may have been otherwise. Like most, you may have regrets. The fact is that those regrets are not worth today's time and attention unless the thought of them provokes some kind of useful change... today. Just for today, let them go!

As for tomorrow, and the future, many of us have a much brighter future ahead, but we can't 'spend' that time yet – we can't touch it – no, not yet. There's only today – for one day only.

Some let me share a word to the wise. Some of you are very wise. You are demonstrating the emotional intelligence that puts off pleasure now so that you may have a better future. You are deferring reward today so that you can have a bigger reward in some imagined tomorrow you are sensibly preparing for. I respect that. I wished I'd learned that lesson earlier (je regrette!) There is another, 'However,' coming, however! I believe it is unwise to invest all of today's time in building a better future. Let there be an element of today that is your gift to yourself for this moment in time – the present for this present. For today only let there be fun! Let there be laughter! Hey, if you like, let there be sparkling champagne, chilli con carne, music, and dance! There may be moonlight tonight, so let there be love and romance too, if you fancy that!

I don't know what floats your boat, but launch that baby today! Then, please, let us know how you have celebrated that special day that is called, "Today!" You don't even have to wait! You can share your plans, right here, right now!

Today, as long as it's called, "Today," make it special!

Lex

A Moodscope member.