Tomorrow.

Sometimes I have random moments when a quote of a certain talk runs through my mind and that seems to have been happening a lot lately. I jot down random notes on my iPhone and periodically go through them to see what nonsense I noted and what I should follow-up on. I had written down, “Find Joy in the Journey,” a talk that I remember well from my first General Conference after becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. With a new year and supposedly new perspectives on things, I decided to take a look at this talk. I know that we are only as happy as we choose to be for life happens and we have no control over that but we do have control over how we respond. Easier said than done, I know. Yesterday while talking to my mother about Goose she noted that nothing was going to change, everything will stay the same, she wasn’t going to get any better. I stopped her mid-sentence and said, “You’re right, if you continue to have that outlook on things, NOTHING will change.” I often wonder why I am unhappy when I know I have full control over my happiness. If it is a fact that life happens, then why is it so hard to find joy in the journey? Why do we rush for certain milestones in our life and disregard the day to day journey that could be such a joyous experience. I am not just talking about finding joy when things are pleasant but finding joy when things are tough.

“This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.” President Thomas S. Monson.

Thinking that something wonderful is going to happen without making any changes or doing anything productive is a false representation of happiness. Although my life is certainly nowhere near perfect, there are things that I can find to be happy about in my daily journey.

“Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.” We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”

I’ve always been blunt, I’ve always said what was on my mind and my justification has been that I will never have to regret not telling someone something even if it is hard. If I were to die tomorrow, no one would have to guess if I loved them or not, or how I felt about certain things because none of us are promised a tomorrow and I’d hate to live my life planning how to live tomorrow without loving how I life today.

“Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows.”