Today: A Day You've Never Lived Before

Paul Simon has a song about the birth of a new child. In a beautiful refrain he sings: “[he’s] never been lonely, never been lied to, never had to scuffle in fear, nothing denied to, born at the instant the church bells chime, and the whole world whispering, born at the right time.”

That’s how I’m feeling today. Optimistic. Born at the right time.

As a parent, you have to be on guard against pessimism. Your children look to you for comfort and guidance, even your semi-adult children. How you look at the world has a lot to do with how they are going to end up looking at the world.

When we see a new baby, it’s like Paul Simon’s song. The child has a new life before her. She has never felt disappointment, or had a bad day, or complained about her boss. Her life has the possibility to be perfect.

Before too long the pressure of the real world bears down on all of us, demanding results. We fail. We recognize that our dream of a perfect life is not going to happen. We become pessimistic, and if our outlook is negative, it’s going to rub off on our children.

Last Sunday in my church a visiting pastor from a foreign country offered an observation in somewhat broken English. He said, with an air of optimism, “Remember, today is a day that you’ve never lived before.” I started thinking about that statement and it really connected with me. Today really is a day that I’ve never lived before. I can look back on my life and remember several incredibly memorable, fantastic days that stand out, days that I’ll never forget. Wonderful days that I never want to forget. And I thought, maybe today, a unique day of possibility that I’ve never lived before, is going to end as one of those days that I’ll remember the rest of my life, a fantastic day that I’ll never want to forget. Why not?

I know that today may seem like just another ordinary day to you, but imagine the possibility of what could happen in the next few hours. Can you imagine that today could end so well that you would want to remember it for the rest of your life? Now, with that in mind, I want to ask you, what could YOU do to make that a reality? Could your behavior in the next few hours make a difference, possibly influence the outcome of this otherwise ordinary day?

Keep this in mind as you interact with your kids and colleagues today. Lift them up and maintain a positive outlook. After all, today just might be the best day of your life, a day that you’ll never forget.

Today is a day that you’ve never lived before, and you’ll never live again. Make it a great one for you and your kids.

Duane Highley is the father of four older children, ages 14 to 25. He and his wife Lisa live in Springfield. He would love to hear your thoughts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .