First Day, Last Day

“If you learn to respond as it if were the first day in your life and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.”

-Brother David Steindl-Rast-

These words from Br. David are heard early in the 5-minute video “A Grateful Day.” I have attached it here and encourage you to view it. I return to it every few weeks, when I need to replenish the sense of blessings I have in my life, many of which I often take for granted. Br. David’s voice and pace bring calm with them, and the music and images, human and other, have such a rich presence.

Seeing the world around me with fresh eyes, as if for the first time, makes me curious and fills me with wonder. I ran past houses, vehicles, schools, roads, signs, a convenience store/gas station, squirrels, rabbits. birds. I knew what they all were. How? I was taught.

What if I was seeing this all for the first time? How curious I would be, maybe perplexed, even a little fearful. I would be vulnerable. I would need to rely on others to guide me. Vulnerability opens us to more deeply experience what is happening at any given moment. Fresh eyes. Fresh perspective. Fresh gratefulness.

Then, considering the opposite. Bringing into the present moment the possibility that today is the last day I have. Poignancy is the word that comes to mind. A different kind of vulnerability arises, but it too heightens the presence and the gratefulness.

Even if I just bring this dual perspective into a few moments of my day today, I will have spent those moments very well, and they will ripple out into the hours of the rest of the day,

Will you try it too? Let me know what freshness comes your way. Onward!