The Joys of Living by Orison Swett Marden.
Resolve every morning that you will get the most out of that day, not of some day in the future, when you are better off, when you have a family, when your children are grown up, when you have overcome your difficulties. You never will overcome them all. You will never be able to eliminate all the things which annoy, trouble, and cause friction in your life. You will never get rid of all the little enemies of your happiness, the hundred and one little annoyances, but you can make the most of things as they are.
The reason why our lives are so lean and poverty-stricken, so disappointing and ineffective, is because we do not really live in the day; we do not concentrate our energy, our ambition, our attention, our enthusiasm, upon the day we are living.
Resolve to enjoy yourself to-day. Enjoy to-day, and do not let the hideous shadows of to-morrow, the forebodings, and the things you dread, rob you of what is yours to-day--your inalienable right to be happy to-day.
Just have a little heart-to-heart talk with yourself every morning, and say: "It does not matter what comes or what goes to-day, what happens or what does not happen, there is one thing of which I am sure, and that is, I am going to get the most possible out of the day. I am not going to allow anything to rob me of my happiness, or of my right to live this day from beginning to end, and not merely to exist.
"I do not care what comes, I shall not allow any annoyance, any happening, any circumstances which may cross my path to-day, to rob me of my peace of mind. I will not be unhappy to-day, no matter what occurs. I am going to enjoy the day to its full, live the day completely. This day shall be a complete day in my life. I shall not allow the enemies of my happiness to mar it. No misfortune in the past, nothing which has happened to me in days gone by, which has been disagreeable or tragic, no enemies of my happiness or efficiency, shall be a guest in my spirit's sacred enclosure to-day. Only happy thoughts, joy thoughts, only the friends of my peace, comfort, happiness, and success, shall find entertainment in my soul this day. . . ."
Remember that yesterday is dead. To-morrow is not yet born. The only time that belongs to you is the passing moment. One might liken the sixty minutes in the hour to flowers, that live for only sixty seconds and then die. If we get the good that belongs to us here and now, we must extract the sweetness of each passing minute while it is ours. That is the real art of living in the to-day.
The reason why our lives are so lean and poverty-stricken, so disappointing and ineffective, is because we do not really live in the day; we do not concentrate our energy, our ambition, our attention, our enthusiasm, upon the day we are living.
Resolve to enjoy yourself to-day. Enjoy to-day, and do not let the hideous shadows of to-morrow, the forebodings, and the things you dread, rob you of what is yours to-day--your inalienable right to be happy to-day.
Just have a little heart-to-heart talk with yourself every morning, and say: "It does not matter what comes or what goes to-day, what happens or what does not happen, there is one thing of which I am sure, and that is, I am going to get the most possible out of the day. I am not going to allow anything to rob me of my happiness, or of my right to live this day from beginning to end, and not merely to exist.
"I do not care what comes, I shall not allow any annoyance, any happening, any circumstances which may cross my path to-day, to rob me of my peace of mind. I will not be unhappy to-day, no matter what occurs. I am going to enjoy the day to its full, live the day completely. This day shall be a complete day in my life. I shall not allow the enemies of my happiness to mar it. No misfortune in the past, nothing which has happened to me in days gone by, which has been disagreeable or tragic, no enemies of my happiness or efficiency, shall be a guest in my spirit's sacred enclosure to-day. Only happy thoughts, joy thoughts, only the friends of my peace, comfort, happiness, and success, shall find entertainment in my soul this day. . . ."
Remember that yesterday is dead. To-morrow is not yet born. The only time that belongs to you is the passing moment. One might liken the sixty minutes in the hour to flowers, that live for only sixty seconds and then die. If we get the good that belongs to us here and now, we must extract the sweetness of each passing minute while it is ours. That is the real art of living in the to-day.
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This is a great post with lots of wisdom. I really like the points about not letting anything on your path stop you from living your life. And Orison Swett Marden really has an inspirational life story, especially as a orphan and his childhood.
ReplyDeleteOn my blog (click on name) I have some Orison Swett Marden quotes and hope to be collecting more, let me know if you like them!