Redux: To be good and happy today
The quote from Sydney Smith: “We know nothing of tomorrow; our business is to be good and happy today” keeps coming to the forefront of my thoughts today. When that happens there is usually a reason. It is a good mantra when worry about tomorrow threatens or even when today feels difficult. I say the words, breathe deeply, exhale fully, smile, look on Karl, Bob, the woods – whatever is at hand that is good.
The words keep coming to me. Maybe I am meant to throw them back out into the Universe so here they are with the original post from September 27, 2007.
“We know nothing of tomorrow; our business is to be good and happy today”. –Sydney Smith
I woke up this morning feeling overwhelmingly thankful…for everything – for the laughter, the joy, the beauty of my days as well as for the challenges, sorrows and disappointments – for everything! It is all part of my life and I’m grateful for all of it.
If life were one smooth, flat ride the view would be lousy – and boring!! It takes a couple of trips to the valley floor to really appreciate the climb up and the beauty of the grand mountain view. And it is on those tumbles down that we often learn who we are, what we are made of, our strengths and weaknesses – and what we don’t want or who we don’t want to be which helps to clarify what we DO want.
A favorite mystery series I read features Amelia Peabody Emerson, wife of a famous Egyptologist and no slouch herself in that department. It is a fun romp of the Errol Flynn sort with the good guys always coming out on top. Amelia’s catch line when things are on the challenging side is biblical: the last line of Matthew 6:34: “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (King James Version). The more current translation is “Each day has enough trouble of it’s own” – but the first lines are “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself”. Sometimes, when I find myself distracted by fretting about some future worry I picture Amelia and say the words and laugh – because, it is true and – “our business is to be good and happy today”!
And for today’s “illustration” – this photo is Karl on the right and Sparky, an 11 month old Border Collie belonging to Bob and Inez Love. Bob logged my property this spring and Sparky was normally along. Sparky and Karl bonded immediately and played, wrestled, chased and napped together. I don’t claim to know what really goes on in their little doggie brains but it seems pretty clear that they do not worry about any tomorrows.
