Yesterday can never change and tomorrow will never exist. Today, however, is forever.

We spend our time in contemplation of the past, forever lamenting things we cannot change. Wondering “what if”? We build alternative realities from hopeful stories that more resemble Disney tales than real life when in reality the Grimm Brothers probably had it right. But we press on, convinces that if only one thing had been different we would be living happily ever after without a care in the world.

When we aren’t bemoaning the past, we are creating expectations for a future that will never happen. We may be in fear over what could happen next. We may be determined that we will control each aspect and make our own future. But if a global pandemic can teach us anything it’s that there is no control of the future. In fact, the future doesn’t exist. It is but a figment if our tiny imaginations.

The present is as real as anything. It is smacking us upside the head with its realness. And we can try to hide from it or accept it and bask in reality. Neither is wrong or right, just a choice. But if you choose acceptance you will be privy to a host of experiences that will define today. Acceptance is the key that unlocks the doors of perception.

If you choose to, if you feel ready, experience this moment in time. Experience it not in repentance of the past. Experience it not in fear of the future. Experience it in the splendor that is presence. The pain and the joy and all that comes with it.