Live One Day at a Time and Make it a Masterpiece
Hello my dear sweet friends! Enjoy your Monday Mantra for this week! Do your best, forget the rest…
There is a sign next to our door. The door I use every day to leave and enter our home. It is there purposefully, as a reminder, and sentimentally.
The same sign hung next to my Grandmother’s door. The door she used every day to leave and enter her home. It was there purposefully, as a reminder, and what would become a mantra.
If you look at it closely, it is just a simple frame. It isn’t elegant, the furthest thing from it as a matter of fact. Actually, if you inspect it further, it isn’t a sign at all. It was a simple placemat, that had an incredible meaning, so it ended up in a frame for the whole world to see.
Now, in this case you may have thought it was a sign of the times. Living through the Great Depression, it was natural not to have extravagant things and to see the beauty in the simplicity. It also was out of necessity. With kids to feed, a house to keep, and limited funds, decorations were pretty far down on the priority list. This sign was a gift, from my Mom, and the placemat was recreated into a piece of art at a craft fair. It is probably around 40 years old, yet its message holds as true as it did the first day it entered my Grandma’s home.
Each day I see it, multiple times throughout the day, and it reminds me of my Gram and Mom, but also reminds me to focus on progress not perfection.
It reads: “LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME AND MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE”.
Simple, right? Don’t worry about tomorrow, worry only about today. The present is all we have. Tomorrow is never promised. We hear messages similar to this one all the time. You would think that by now, it would be so far engrained into our skull that we would actually live in that way.
However, I’m sure I’m not the only one with To Do List’s a mile long or thoughts that float in my head about maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next month, maybe next year, etc. As hard as I try and as often as I think about it, it is like my brain is just programmed to think to the future. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for that and thinking of the future is still a necessary and great thing. What I have been finding lately though, is how scary time can be.
When I put things off, when I am tired and give up and put it off until tomorrow, when I don’t plan out my days, when I am not intentional about my time and actions, life just happens. Life just happening all around us is BEAUTIFUL. The world keeps moving, whether we want it to or not somedays, and time continues to tick. The last 10 months have FLOWN by (and I know they will only continue to do so, probably at an even faster rate). Personally, I know that in a year, two years, five years, ten years, heck even tomorrow, I don’t want to look back and think man, I had the time, I had the opportunity, but what did I do with it? Once time is spent, you can never get it back. That is a profound and powerful truth.
There is a natural element here at work. Clearly laundry, dishes, “life things” have to happen and sure that will naturally take up some of our time no matter what. I know that whenever the day comes, whenever my time here is through, I won’t be thinking about the chores, my email, my cell phone, my house, my “things”, I would be thinking about the people I love in my life, the ones who have loved and supported me unconditionally, without question, and all of the beautiful memories that I have.
LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME AND MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE.
Simple, right? If you think about it too long it might even stress you out. I have caught my thoughts wandering there before too, so if you are all of a sudden feeling pressured, take a deep breath my friend.
It has taken me YEARS to realize the true message of that phrase and why it was so close to my Grandma’s heart.
LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME AND MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE.
It may mean different things to different people and may inspire you in a way that doesn’t resonate with me, and that’s totally fine! The meaning it has come to have for me is reflected in my Grandma’s life and her example.
Each day we get is a present. Be thankful for the day at hand, the opportunities, the memories, the moments. Know that even on the bad days, time is a gift, it may be here to teach us a lesson or to move us onto the path we are meant to be (even if we are fighting it at the time). Almost every hard time, situation, or experience that I have gone through has proven to be positive in the aftermath. Sometimes it has taken a REALLY long time to get there, but with faith it usually turns into a learning experience and growth.
LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME AND MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE.
A masterpiece is different to everyone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My masterpiece will look different than yours and what I consider a masterpiece will change and evolve over time. It’s not about perfection or having the perfect day or getting everything right. It is about getting to the end of the day and being able to lay down at night and know deep down that you did your best. If every day we strive to do our best, work to move forward, focus on progression and let go of everything being perfect, then that my friends is an absolute masterpiece.
It is a new week. You will have trials, you will have moments of downright exhaustion, but I am willing to bet that if you look for all of the positive and blessings in your life, you will begin to notice the beautiful and the masterpieces that are being created in your days. Our minds create our mood and if we LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME AND MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE, suddenly our outlook on life and positivity will reflect in everything we do. If you find yourself this week struggling with something that didn’t go just right or beating yourself up over something, remember we aren’t aiming for perfection, we are all just trying our best. Someone, somewhere, I guarantee is feeling just like you this very moment.
I challenge you this week to look for the good, even in the bad or tough situations. Each day as you wake up and realize that this new day is a gift, quietly think to yourself “I’m going to live this one day, just today, right here and right now, and I will make it a masterpiece”. Speak over your life in a positive and empowering way and great things will happen.
So, here’s to pursuing a present, simple life by living intently and always remembering what matters and what doesn’t. Remember to give yourself grace and permission to enjoy the journey. I’m always in your corner, cheering you on, and pulling for you friend!
With love always, Madison
