Why Not Now?

Here we are. Now we can commit ourselves to living by the Golden

Triangle of the three most challenging words: true, good, and
beautiful. We live in a great world full of excitement. Now is all you
and I have; we should go for the good life. I have a friend who saw a
sign at Massachusetts General Hospital: “Yesterday is gone, tomorrow
is
a mystery. Now is a gift. That is why we call it the present.”
Accept the invitation. Live your philosophy and apply the ideals of
life to every choice you make. There is a great potential in you waiting
to
unfold. Contemplate the joys of being alive. Embrace the depth of
your
living. We live in eternity now. We must wake up to the truth that this
hour, this day’s delight, is eternity. There is no there there, eternity is
here,
now. We must say yes to accepting this great gift we have right where
we are. Right here, right now, we live the good life. When we realize
how vitally important now really is to us, we can join all the great
minds
through philosophy, literature, poetry, religion, music, and art, who
show
us that great lives are possible. Now we must transform ourselves. Not
only should we commit ourselves to all that is true, good, and
beautiful, as
a way to live in the light of excellence, in the joy of natural beauty, but
we
should put our whole being into now.

The Buddha reminds us, “Life is as fleeting as a rainbow, a fl ash of

lightning, a star at dawn.” Whatever your beliefs about what happens
after we die, don’t think you can put your life on hold, waiting to live
the good life later. There is no way we can delay our challenging
journey
toward a life of real excellence and meaning. As the poet Emily
Dickinson
believed, “That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”
We
can’t afford to shortchange ourselves.
Goethe brilliantly instructed us to “Live in this moment and live in
eternity.” This genius who was continuously alive to the transcendent
experience, along with so many other great minds, urges us to enjoy
now,
to live more abundantly. On his deathbed, he said, “Light—more light.”
We’re given this life, this tiny window of light, of opportunity. Don’t
think of now as a good time. Know that now is the only time.
The good life, the well-lived life, the one life you are now living,
is yours. You have a duty and obligation to make it happy by living by
the principles of the moderate mean between two extremes of too
little
or too much. You need to continuously challenge yourself to move in a
transcendent direction. If you are financially comfortable and secure,
you
may choose to give more money to worthy causes in order to help
others
live better lives. To live in the middle, between too little and too much,
is
your challenge because this is the right place for our greatest good.
You are your choices. You live with the consequences for better or for
worse. Is there a better way of life for you and me? The task for us is
to
learn how to think in an entirely new way. Without training our minds,
we will not be able to make the good, the better, and the best choices.
The Buddha believed, “Each morning we are born again.” You and I
can
create the ideal way to live right where we are by living the good life
now.
In our positive thoughts, our constructive attitudes, our right choices,
our
thoughtful actions, in our capacity to grow in love, we are able to live
in
the light of truth now.
Do whatever it takes to make now more precious. The most ordinary
experience can become extraordinary with the right mental discipline
and

the gift of our life-giving force. We recognize how blessed we are.

We’re
grateful for our life. We appreciate what we have before it is too late.
Studies prove that when people are more mature, they tend to be
happier. They’re less emotionally imbalanced and have a tendency to
savor what they have now. There are no guarantees that any of us will
live long, healthy lives. Now is the time we should choose to make
sublime. My mentor and friend Eleanor McMillen Brown, the doyenne
of interior design in America, lived a life of great excellence. I’ve never
known anyone more balanced, disciplined, talented, and charming.
She
understood that all beauty warms our heart. Her generosity of spirit,
her
tenderness, her cheerfulness, were inspiring. Her heart was always in
the
right place. She taught the good life by example.
Mrs. Brown’s favorite word was success. I wish you could hear her:
“Oh, Sandie, that was such a S-U-C-C-E-S-S!” It could have been
a Thanksgiving dinner or a room scheme or a wonderful luncheon
together. This was a lady who loved life, who wanted things to work
out
well. Mrs. Brown set a high standard of excellence for me to try to
follow.
She understood that everything could be true, good, and beautiful and
lived this philosophy every day. We set ourselves up for success when
we
recognize that everything we do is important. We can’t live well in
parts.
We live a happy, productive, beautiful life in everything we choose to
do.
I look to the central figure of American transcendentalism, Emerson,
for inspiration: “How high can you carry life? A man is a man only as
he
makes life and nature happier to us.”
“How high can you carry life?” Commit yourself to living the good
life. Accept the invitation. Find pleasure in the process of
transcendence
into greater truth, goodness, and beauty. Now or never. Now is when
we’re free to choose to affirm life more fully, to embrace excellence.
Living the good life is challenging. The commitment to live such
a life will not make life easier. But when we understand that the good
life is the one right way for each of us to live, we can gladly accept the
invitation. Now we are on our way, headed in the right direction.
Guided
by the principles that will light our path, we can choose to live the
good
life. Now we have everything we need and desire. Nothing is missing.
Everything is eternally and forever now. This is IT. We are now in the
sunshine. If not now, when?