238. Why Today is Special

I like the image above, which was the first one to show in a Google image search for "one chance to live today," even though I don't understand what the water or hand mean. Maybe is an upper-body version of "You can step into the same stream only once." In any case, you can click on the photo to see Morgan Northway's post about the importance of remembering that each day provides a special and unique opportunity.

My idea for today's essay came from Mary Oliver's poem "The Summer Day," the last lines of which are "Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ With your one wild and precious life?"

Some days truly feel ordinary. Those are days we work or study or laze about. Those are days when we stay nearby without visitors from afar. Those are days when we let the hours pass unnoticed. Most of us also experience many days when the calendar reminds us that every minute is booked and deadlines loom, and we have to spend time doing what needs to get done or face external consequences. If we're not thoughtful, we can allow every day to progress this way, but we're doing ourselves a disservice if we let busy and empty days pass mindlessly.

As may seem obvious but I'll say anyway, we don't get second chances to live each day. The ways we pass the time become our pasts, immutable. If we stumble blindly through our days, we capture no images to cherish. If we march deafly through our days, we have no songs to replay in our minds. If we trudge numbly, we find no joy to sustain us.

I offer an alternative. Remind yourself that today is the only NAME-TODAY'S-DATE you'll ever have. Search for ways to capture it in your memories. Use your senses:

• What did you eat today that tickled your taste buds?
• What did you wear today that was soft or scratchy or silky on your skin?
• What did you hear today that will replay in your mind?
• What did you smell today that opened your olfactories?
• What did you see that made you think about the vastness of the universe or the minutiae of the moment?

Do any of those questions offer you a positive thought about why this day is special? If not, here are other methods you could try:

• Right now or just before you go to sleep, think about the best moment of your last twenty-four hours. Replay that experience in the most detail you can. Ideally, write it down capturing every nuance.
• Take a photo every day of yourself, smiling in front of something that you like.
• Every day, write the date and a distinct object/person/action/aspect of your life for which you're grateful. Don't stop doing this after you've named your family and pets. Keep going. Set a timer on your phone so that you don't forget to do it. Save the list and look over it when you get to a hundred or more.
• Accept invitations. Make plans. Seek company. In every way you can think of, go out of your way to participate in life in ways you'll go to bed smiling about.

There are many ways to remember that each day is its own gift to us. What are some of the ways you've found to acknowledge that today is special and worthy of note/ enjoyment? Please share ideas in the comments.