I was born on Christmas Day. My mother would always bake the most delicious red velvet Christmas cake on my birthday. On my twentieth birthday I was not in a happy mood; my mind was restless. I was remembering how full of life - smiling and high-spirited - I had been on my 16th birthday. I was missing the fun of sleeping in class, hanging out with friends and wearing ‘skimpy’ outfits. I felt clueless, and afraid, about my future. I did not feel like celebrating my future; I first wanted to solve the puzzle of life ! The day ended with nothing going as per plan.
On my thirtieth birthday I decided to leave work early. On my way home I stopped at a bakery to buy a fresh fruit cake. I met Sarah there; she was a senior Physiotherapist and a good friend. She invited me for her daughter’s twentieth birthday party on New Year’s Eve. I accepted the invitation with great pleasure and left home early in the evening, that day. There were scores of people who had came out of their homes to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Sarah welcomed me with a big smile. Her living room was elegantly decorated with white orchids, and she had placed white lily-scented candles to brighten the room. I took a seat next to her. Soon Emily, her daughter, a young pretty girl, joined us. She had worn a long mint-green chiffon dress with a pair of towering silver peep-toe heels; and also wore beautiful flowers in her hair.
I was mesmerised by her beauty. She seemed so full of life and energy. I walked up to Emily and conveyed my best wishes to her. I asked her, “How do you feel about your birthday?” She happily replied, “I feel ecstatic ! I believe in living in the present. It is all in the mind. I feel much younger than I am - more like 16 than 20.” She amazed me with her words of wisdom.
The party started with sparkling champagne, followed by an irresistible buffet. After the party I went to the coffee shop to grab a cup of hot chocolate. I thought about my twentieth birthday. Unlike Emily, I had confined myself to my room – and spent the time contemplating the past and looking into the future. I had felt that I was missing out on life, and had ironically lost one of life’s precious moments. I decided to forgive myself for the past and to live fully in the present - to enjoy every minute of every day.
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, and not to anticipate troubles - but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha
The living moment is everything.” - D.H. Lawrence
With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” - Jan Glidewell
The first recipe for happiness is: avoid too lengthy a meditation on the past.” - André Maurois
Old times never come back and I suppose it’s just as well. What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that’s better.” - George E. Woodberry
Internationally published author of
‘14 Pearls of Inspiration’ and the ‘12 Facets of a Crystal’
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