A close friend died this past week. It hasn’t been a good half of year for that in my world.

I’m reminded of the importance to live for the moment AND the future.

You don’t sell out your future for the moment, but you also don’t sell out your moment for the future because you don’t know how much of a future you have left.

I’m reminded of a quote from James Dean that I’ve often thought about:

Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. – James Dean

I have learned to live in the present.

I used to think so much about the future.

I’d work for the future, I’d dream of the future, and I’d long for the future.

I sold out the present as inferior to what was out there down the road.

But in doing that, I didn’t give value to the only thing that I had which was that day, that hour, and that minute.

The interesting thing about the present moment is that it’s slipping through your fingers.

You can never get it back.

The future seems to always be out of reach, but the present is in your hands.

You can make it great.

You can squeeze everything out of it but you cannot keep it.

The future will come so just let it.

Don’t wait on it. Don’t look to it.

Make the most of what is now and the future, when it becomes the “now,” will be more of what you want it to be.

So consider the future in your decisions, but don’t forget or discount the moment.

It’s your moment and it’s all that you have. I do recommend a book on the topic. It’s called, “The Power of Now.”