These are the lyrics to a lullaby I heard one summer (1992?) while visiting my dad in California. My brother was three and my sister was one, and I vividly remember listening to this song every day at nap time and at bed time that entire summer.
When I returned home, I decided to record a lullaby tape for a little boy at my church who I just absolutely loved, and this was one of the songs I chose to include. I wanted the tape to be perfect, so I recorded each song multiple times. At one point, between “takes” of this particular song, my mom made a comment that the song is depressing as an adult, that that’s all life really boils down to. We count the hours, thus counting the down the day, then we go to bed, just to do it all over again the next day.
I can’t say that I disagree with my mom’s observation, and on a similar note, I find it sad that so many of us spend us so much time counting down and wishing our lives away. We wish away every hour, looking forward to quitting time. We wish away every weekday, looking forward to the weekend. We wish away months, looking forward to our next vacation. We wish away years, looking forward to that next stage in our children’s lives (Of course, I’m no longer speaking for myself, since I don’t have children). “Living in the moment” sounds great, but how many of us actually do it? I don’t; I won’t even pretend.
This sounds like a “kick in the pants” type of blog post, one to get you thinking and motivated to start embracing life, living in the moment, appreciating every second that’s given to you. But it’s not.
What if living in the moment isn’t the only way? What if it isn’t so wrong to have something to look forward to on a daily basis? What if your job isn’t what gets you out of bed in the morning, but what awaits you afterwards is your motivation? Your kids, your workout, time with friends, quiet reading time, your hair appointment, even the quiet drive home. Is that so bad?
Just a thought.
I continued to sing this lullaby for years to the countless children I babysat (as depressing as it may be), always pondering its accurate reflection of life. But however you choose to navigate through it–embracing each moment or looking forward to the next–here’s where I think it would be helpful for us all to rest our focus: “…it’s time to start all over again.”
Regardless of your stance, we can end each day–good or bad–with the knowledge that we have a chance to make tomorrow better…God willing.