Infinite Succession of Presents

Today I am grateful for a nice visit with my sister Zita and that she was able to attend Sam's football game. I am also grateful for the medical insurance and available care that we have.

Yesterday's "Word for the Day" at www.gratefulness.org was this:

"We don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession 

of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that 

is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

(Howard Zinn)

I like this quote for many reasons. I had never really considered the future like this, simply the next moment to experience and appreciate. I paid attention to that in small ways yesterday. I noticed the pre-dawn moon and stars more than I do some mornings. Enjoying the favorite parts of songs like Steve Winwood's "While You See a Chance" and Chicago's "Feelin' Stronger Every Day."  I went in to work later than usual after taking Sam to the dentist, and I enjoyed the lighter traffic on my commute.

The infinite succession of presents provided many gifts.

There is also plenty of hope in these words. There is plenty of bad around us, but I believe the good wins out. And it has a much better chance of winning when we pay more attention to it.

And it offers direction for my day ahead. Live now as human beings should live. Being kind and tolerant of ourselves and one another. Being grateful for this day and the tiny bits of future that will unfold moment by moment.