This post will not be about school shootings; I’ve written about them in angst in past posts, but I do not want to ignore the latest one to rock our nation. The shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, last month is the latest that continues to beg the questions, “Why?” and “When will we say enough is enough?”
The answer is NOW! Now is the most crucial moment in life. It’s what determines the present state of our lives and helps determine our future as well. The quote, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present’” (Eleanor Roosevelt), serves to remind us that things that happened to us in the past are there to help us learn from our mistakes, mistakes of others, and learn from what worked as well. And even though we may not know what the future holds, we can use our prior and current state to help strive higher for our future.
But some things can’t wait. Now is the time. And doing whatever it takes to prevent school shootings and mass shootings of all kinds should be of preeminence concern. Other things may not be as crucial but may still require immediate attention and action to be effective.
What in your life is a ‘right now’ moment? What can you do about something right now? What have you been putting off forever? Procrastinating even your procrastination? Although I don’t recommend anyone rushing into decisions, instead ponder, pray, and then proceed, sometimes we can tend to wait too late and allow an opportunity to pass us by. I heeded that thought when I finally decided to move forward with writing my first book. I kept telling myself that I didn’t have the money, resources, or time to pursue being an author. So I kept putting it off. But eventually, I had to make a decision. At the end of the summer in 2014, I let my part-time job manager know I wasn’t returning to work the following summer as summer camp supervisor. My reason? Because I was going to start writing my book.
I not only had to take a leap of faith, but I also had to take a walk of reality. Working 8:30 am till 3:30 pm five days a week, sometimes in the scorching heat all summer long, would not afford me the best opportunity to write a good book. And summer was my best chance to write since it’s practically impossible for me to write during the school year while creating lesson plans and grading papers. So I quit in order to start something else. And here I am, nearly ten years later, still on the cusp of making more decisions that will affect my now and my tomorrow.
Next stop? Who knows. But I’ll never get there until I deal with my right now. There’s nothing like the present to help you ponder your past and look forward to your future.