The past few years have unveiled a slew of very disturbing news that while confined to one area, will naturally continue unabated as time progresses. My mother, who turned 80 a few months ago, has seen some very dear friends succumb to disease, injury and advanced age. Accompanying the overwhelming sorrow is a profound sense of her own mortality, and I expend great effort, as any loving son would, at bolstering the knowledge that she thankfully enjoys very good health and looks fantastic. Much of this is due to my mother’s almost religious devotion to her diet and thrice weekly visits to a local gym where she participates in a seniors exercise regimen.
Here’s the rub…even more astonishing is how many of my own family, friends and acquaintances have recently passed away. A cousin, childhood friend, along with high school and college classmates, all in their fifties, have sadly departed at what we 50 plus males regard as a vital 
phase of our lives. I’ve never been a devotee of the obituaries in my local paper, but the ever expanding lists of the deceased noted in my high school class web site and quarterly college alumni publications produce agonizing projectiles to the gut that eliminate any attempt on my part to have these notices remain inconspicuous.
So here’s a fundamental life question raised by this news…do I continue to follow my heretofore unwritten edict of always “planning for tomorrow” or should I finally learn to “live for today?” I’m fully aware it’s possible to straddle both philosophies, but the question of applying equal weight to each choice versus favoring one over the other must be addressed.
There isn’t any right or wrong answer; it’s strictly a personal matter based on your particular circumstances. I’ve always been a believer that “today will take care of itself,” therefore focus on planning for a better tomorrow. At work, I’ve always had the habit of going a bit overboard in trying to plan for every possible ill-advised scenario that could arise before a new project began, not only to have pre-arranged solutions at-hand, but more importantly to help prevent the actual occurrence of the problem. In my personal life, I’ve always been a saver rather than a spender…who knows what tomorrow will bring, so best to be prepared. Now, having the perspective of too many untimely deaths within my social sphere, my once solid foundation built by sheer determination to seek a better tomorrow is beginning to show cracks.
One of my closest friends has always been a “live for today” practitioner and I have repeatedly berated him over the years for feeling this way. Well folks, not only do I no longer question him, I find myself appreciating my friend for effectuating this lifestyle much earlier than I ever dreamt to follow this path. If you’re sensing a gradual sway on my part to joining the “live for today” club, you’re right…instead of selfishly theorizing there will be many more “tomorrows,” I increasingly focus on fully actualizing each “today.”
Like many of my brethren when I was in my twenties, thirties and forties, I always thought of myself as invincible; this is no longer the case. Our health, much like good fortune, can no longer be taken for granted. We’ve all heard “you could be hit by a bus tomorrow” and “the world does not owe you a living.” I always used to casually cast aside such broadsides, but now, I’m listening…
-Neal
