Letting go

IN 1974 Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson gave us the words of the song One Day at a Time. It was first recorded by the American Gospel singer Marilyn Sellars but from over 200 cover versions those by Lena Martell and Christy Lane are perhaps the best known – taking it to No 1 in the charts. For those who love Country and Western it is a classic but for those who have trouble with that particular musical genre it will, no doubt, be a toe curler!

The lyrics are in the form of a prayer:

Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine

Help me today

Show me the way

One day at a time.

In the first verse the words admit to the sometime feebleness of human nature and it has the singer asking for the strength to face the challenges of life just One day at a time.

Whatever we may say about the lyrics of this song it actually declares a deep wisdom. It derives its fundamental insight from Jesus who, in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount, advised his listeners: “not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6: 34) In the same passage Jesus reminds his listeners to set aside worrying about the things we cannot change and instead focus on the things of greatest import and value. It is the passage where Jesus reminds us that worrying doesn’t add years to our life, but that looking out for the Kingdom of God might add life to our years.

It is from this sage advice and wisdom that Alcoholics Anonymous and many other addiction groups get their fundamental working principle. This is built around the knowledge that no addict can say that they will remain sober or clean or free from their obsessive habit for the rest of their life but they can say that they will remain sober or clean or habit-free for today. It’s about living life in the present – yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not be what we plan, but, the now is of the utmost importance.

The ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, (Laozi) writing six hundred years before Christ is credited with many wise utterances, but perhaps one of his most insightful is a message about the positive nature of living in the present. He said: “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” I don’t offer Laozi’s words as a diagnostic tool for our mental health, but I do offer them as a tool for grounding ourselves in the present.

Trying to see each new day as a gift and, whatever our circumstances, trying to make the most of each day is one of those self-evident truths and yet it is so hard to put into practice. Harbouring resentments about stuff that happened in the past drains the appetite for today and living for some far off dream that may never come to pass is a sure fire recipe for missing the best of the present. Let go of what you cannot alter and choose to be present in the moment.

As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.

In the world of golf I am a huge admirer of Ben Hogan, who, by all accounts, was one of the greatest players ever to hold a golf club. His philosophy for living: “As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.” It was his way of saying, life is too short to dwell on what happened yesterday or to worry about what tomorrow may bring – if you want to smell the roses you have to be alert to what is around you in the here and now.

This article appears in the October 2020 Issue of Life and Work

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