Forward

“Yesterday’s over my shoulder,” sings Jimmy Buffett, “I can’t look backward too long.”

Shimon Peres puts it this way: “The things that were done belong to the past.”

“I don’t look back,” writes St. Paul.

All three express what I trip over sometimes.

How about you?

I can spend too much time reliving past glory days, wallowing in their wonder. But that clouds my vision.

Long after the moment’s passed I come up with a cogent response to something someone said that would’ve been brilliant at the time. But not now.

Imagining different, more desirable outcomes and “woulda, coulda, shoulda” stuff can be fun. But that can make me miss a present opportunity.

How about you?

“Yesterday’s over my shoulder, I can’t look backward too long. There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me,” is how the next part of Mr. Buffett’s song goes.

The former Israeli Prime Minister, in the March 7th, 2016 issue of Time magazine, says, “The things that were done in the past belong to the past. I’m mainly occupied with the things that can and should be done tomorrow.” And he’s 92.

“I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride,”is how St. Paul puts it in Philippians 3:13, 14, ” and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.” (The God’s Word translation)

Listening to all three, the direction of my day seems clear: forward.

How about you?