You tell me to live each day
as if it were my last. This is in the kitchen
where before coffee I complain
of the day ahead–that obstacle race
of minutes and hours,
grocery stores and doctors.
But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first–
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning,
the sun coming up
like an ingénue in the east?
You grind the coffee
with the small roar of a mind
trying to clear itself. I set
the table, glance out the window
where dew has baptized every
living surface.
~Linda Pastan, 1932
/~/
I’ve heard and thought a lot about living each day as if it were my last: not putting things off, loving and being thankful for things/people, making things right, enjoying each moment, etc.
But what if I–we–would live each day as if it were the first? With “all raw astonishment”–everything’s new and spectacular and unexpected and delightful, and we revel in it all.
Now that I think about it, living each day as if it were our last seems. . . sad. We’re having fun and enjoying everything and loving people and all that–and in the back of our minds, we’re thinking “I’m going to die soon.” “This is my last day, and I need to enjoy it and be ready to die.”
We do need to be prepared for death, for going to meet God and end up at our eternal destination. We do need to keep in mind that we could very possibly keel over in the next minute. Are we satisfied with our life? Have we made things right with God and other people? Are we looking forward to going to Heaven and being with Jesus, instead of focusing on this earth?
But at the same time. . .
I don’t know. It’s a new thought.
I don’t think either one is wrong necessarily. Perhaps we should do both. Live like each day is our last: making things right, not putting things off, being ready to die, etc.; and live like each day is our first: astonished, delighting over everything, curious, seeing things with new eyes, etc.
Either way, we should live each day with thankfulness. 🙂
Speaking of thankfulness, this is the first post of my Thanksgiving series for this year! I’m hoping to do seven more, most of them published on Saturday or Tuesday. I am also doing a Thanksgiving All November list again and will post about some of the things on my Instagram account. 😊
I’d love to hear from you; tell me your thoughts on Thanksgiving and/or thankfulness, your Thanksgiving traditions, things that make you happy/that you’re thankful for, or whatever you wish to say! Comment, email, message me on Instagram, or whatever! Have a thankful November!
