Today is all we have

Yesterday, what we have ‘today’ was ‘tomorrow’. But, we wasted yesterday worrying and planning about ‘tomorrow’. Now, that ‘tomorrow’ is here as ‘today’. And, what are we doing today? Again, worrying and planning about tomorrow. Will tomorrow ever come? Life is made up of only ‘todays’. If we could live our ‘todays’ 100%, we would have lived our entire life 100%, otherwise we are sure to waste this greatest gift called ‘life’ in ‘yesterdays’ or ‘tomorrows’. The only benchmark of living is asking "Am I living today?" The only benchmark of progress is asking "Have I become a better human being at the end of today?"

Going against Conscience

Mr. Vohra, talking in a lighter vein, has made a serious point in his piece “Ever tempted to do the wrong thing?” (Wknd. June 9, 2017). Who can truly declare that he / she would never go against his/her conscience, no matter what the temptation or price is? Vohra admits that he is fortunate enough not to have his price line tested as yet. Even Mahatma Gandhi had said, “Have I that nonviolence of the brave in me? My death alone will show that. If someone killed me and I died with prayer for the assassin on my lips, and God’s remembrance and consciousness of His living presence in the sanctuary of my heart, then alone would I be said to have had the nonviolence of the brave.”

So long as we have any value for things that the World can offer – money; sensual pleasures; power; name; or fame, we have potential to fall. And, we cannot know this until our price line is tested in real life. In my own life, I have followed a few pointers to keep me on course and in line with my own conscience: “Will I be able to face my mother or my children with pride after doing this act? Will I be able to sleep well after falling for this temptation?” For the future, all I can do is to deeply understand the true worth of the World’s temporary offerings and raise my price line so high that it never crosses my path.