Cherish today!

byCarlamarie58

1.5K followers

9 years ago

Cherish today! It will never come again with its joys, its sorrows, and mostly, its opportunities. The kind words of praise we fail to utter, the smile we forget to offer a stranger, the laughter we subdue when it would lighten a mood, the hurt we neglect to hug away...only today. Tomorrow is not promised, and indeed never comes.

A friend of mine woke up the other day without her precious smile. She had brightened many of my days with that smile. Her bright countenance was so real and alive, and that smile just belonged on her face. It was a gift to all she met along life's way, stranger and friend alike. It was a mark of authenticity and approachability. She spread joy everywhere she went with her kind ways, and mostly her smile just went before her and announced, "You are worthwhile to me, and now I'm here to make your day better". How I took that smile for granted! She suffered a debilitating stroke in the night. Thankfully, she survived and is now going through extensive physical therapy to try to regain use of the right side of her body. But her beautiful smile suffered a devastating blow!

And yet, a partially frozen face can't really 'hold in' a true 'spiritual' smile. She is the same dynamic, giving, amazingly patient, selfless individual she was before. Her inner smile is still visible to all who know and love her. And I am forced to think...what about me? Is my smile a 'deep down' smile, a 'spiritual' smile, and will it survive to shine out and bless others in spite of hurt or pain the future may bring. Do I offer it as a gift as often as I should to brighten the day or encourage another?

I was looking through the 'rankings' on Wealthy Affiliate, and my! There certainly are a lot of folks on this forum! I guarantee that with all of those faces I clicked 'follow' on tonight, some of you are hurting.... Some of you simply had a 'rotten' day, but some, perhaps, experienced the betrayal of one they trusted. Someone received horrible news. Another experienced crippling fear. And real, agonizing 'gut-wrenching' loss 'ate' its way into the lives of others, right here on WA, this very day. I love Wealthy Affiliate's positive culture and affirming community! But life still goes on... birth, happiness, blessing, growth, sickness, loss, death, sorrow...

So my prayer is that I might live in such a way that today will be used to the fullest. Today, I will bless, and not curse. Today, I will lift a prayer for one in need. Today, I will bring joy to others. Today, I will utter kind words of praise, Today, I will offer a stranger my best smile. Today, I will try to lighten a mood with the bubble of genuine laughter. Today, I will hug a hurt away... because today is all we ever have....

Anybody need a hug? :-)

Carla