The Price for a Day of My Life

This is the beginning of a new day.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is important 

because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever,
leaving in its place something I have traded for it.
I want it to be a gain, not a loss;
good, not evil;
success, not failure —
in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it today.

-- author unknown

I heard from an old friend today, someone I thought lost to time.  Inasmuch as everyone, including myself, has issues with the evils of social media, today was a good day for Facebook.  Today was a good day for me, and a good day, I think, for my long lost friend.  

I tried to remember how long it had been.  40... 43 years?  The gray matter upstairs, starts to play tricks with your memory at 62, as do the eyes, and the heart.  You remember things best left forgotten, like failed marriages and misery, and forget those things you want to remember, like where you put your glasses.  Some of the good things thankfully, never fade; count the faces of good friends and the love of youth, among them.

I saw in her face the hard life she speaks of, and the teenage girl I once knew.  I read in her words about family and friends, and a loneliness only the mature of us can truly understand.  We had moments of happy memories, some smiles and laughter, and I actually found a tear, but just briefly.  This was another moment, a lost but not forgotten moment, of joy in my life.

She and I will continue to connect regularly, I hope.  We will speak more of loves lost and found, of friends here and gone, of time remembered and not.  There will be laughter and, I'm certain, more tears.  There are times as you get older when you find moments that mark the beginning of a new day.  Today was that kind of day.  It was important, and I didn't waste it.  When tomorrow comes, I will hold onto the memory of this day.  This day may pass, but the memory of it shall live on.  I have traded this day for a new memory of something lost, long ago... and an old friend.  This is a good thing, a success, and I will never regret the price I paid for it.  This was a good day.

We let friends slip away.  Sometimes it happens without us even realizing.  Sometimes we make an issue of it, causing a rift full of anger and hurt.  Too often we can find ourselves alone, with a good part of our lives missing, and apologies buried in a pride that hasn't served us well.  This is not a good thing.

Cherish your friends always.  Learn to be tolerant and forgiving.  Remember the good times and the bad, people still with us and those that have passed, the loves, loves lost, and loves unrequited, the laughter and tears.  These are the memories we may have to fight for as we age; cherish them while you still can and hold onto them for as long as you can.  Tomorrow is more assured, as we get older, to never come.

They say you can't go back home again, and this is true, for the most part.  When we leave we grow in ways those who stayed don't experience.  Some of us experience the world, others a small part of it.  At the end of our journey, when we try to go back, we see home in a different light.  We return to find the lights on and nobody home.  Compared to where we've been it is unfulfilling and dull.  Home becomes the memory you go back to in your mind, while you still can.

If you haven't said "I love you" to your friends, what will you do tomorrow when they've gone?  What price are you willing to pay for a day of your life?  How about a moment, or a few words?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.