The future is not something illusive and far away. It begins now…and now…and now

Yesterday we celebrated my friend Deborah’s 60^th birthday and her clean bill of health after a bout with cancer. She is full of energy again. She looked absolutely fabulous! She is done with doctors, hospitals, surgeries, treatments and invasive medications. She received a new lease on life. Exhilarating! What will she do with her future?

I had to think of a statement by Dr. Michael Berenbaum, a leading expert on the Holocaust:

The question is what to do with the very fact of survival. Over time survivors will be able to answer that question, not by a statement about the past but by what they do with the future.

It struck me that this is true for survivors not only of the Holocaust, but of many tragedies that deeply affect and change our lives: car crashes, divorce, empty nest syndrome, cancer as in Deborah’s case, and also job loss and financial meltdown.

Why do we have to survive tragedy or financial hardship to realize that every minute of the day is the beginning of our future? We can change the course of our lives at any moment in the day. There is so much power locked up in that thought. Exhilarating isn’t it?

Cheers Deborah! It’s an honor to know you!