"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit
to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Letting go of the past. It's essential to enjoy the present. I know from [too much experience] that constantly worrying about the past, or how things "could have been", takes away from the beauty of the moment. Certainly it's important to acknowledge our mistakes, habits that don't serve us, so we can move away from them, but for the most part the past should stay in the past.
But this also has to do with giving yourself enough credit. It's sad that an accomplishment can get thrown under the bus because some other small part of the day didn't go exactly as planned. Oh well. You're still alive; you didn't screw up so badly as to ruin that. Tomorrow always has the potential to be greater than the day before. What Emerson is reminding of us here is that crap happens, and it's important not to let it sting you; tomorrow holds the possibility of great moments. And they should be celebrated. That's what fuels the flame for the next day. You wake up after a less than ideal day and say "Yesterday was okay, but today is going to KICK ASS! Why? Because I'm alive and life is worth a celebration every single day! So now I'm going to celebrate it with an awesome Chai tea and a book!" Talk about having a high spirit! Passion, enthusiasm, excitement can be applied to little things and they pump out tons, and tons of Seratonin.
At least that's what I try to do-- be excited over the little things. Perfectly brewed tea, a touching story, the perfect music for the moment, the wind in my hair, they joy I experience when I have fulfilling conversations with my friends... those things make my days, and my spirit, absurdly happy.
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