The Rest of Your Life
Picture the scene: two Natives of Spain and a Dominican sitting in on a highly intellectual philosophy class in the yellow, green, and orange colored classroom. During the day this classroom serves as the place where about fifteen women gather to learn and weave their purses. These purses will then be sold abroad to benefactors and they will receive money for each bag they make. This new way of income has done away with their former life of selling more than just a good time to the men folk of Gode.
In the evening, this same space becomes our own place of learning new things.
It was my first philosophy class here with Sister Mary Joachim. Belen and Javi already knew how enthusiastic and creative Sister was when she taught. We spoke of many things...the intellect and will, the theological virtues, what it means to be an "act", and so forth. At the end of the very stimulating class Sister says, "I mean, really! This is the first day of the rest of your life!" Both her passion and her great British accent led me to belt out my best version of this line from one of Matt Maher's songs: "This is the first day of the rest of your life. And even in the dark you can still see the light. It's gonna be alright. It's gonna be alright!" In place of an African drum I resorted to the green desk at my fingertips and it did the job. Belen and Sister laughed while Javi just lamented, "That's so American"...
This is the first day of the rest of your life. Imagine...imagine if we actually lived our lives this way. Today I begin again. Yesterday has passed. Tomorrow is not here. But today...today I am alive. Today I can begin again. How often we live in either the past or the future as the present moment escapes us. We spend our days planning and agonizing over possible failures. We run circles around our mistakes and past hurts. It's happened to me so many times I cannot begin to count, nor would I be able to. Yet, what if today I lived my life in such a way that all that matters is how intensely and genuinely I have given myself over to love? Not so much how well I did this in the past or how I may fail at this in the future, but to live today with intention and purpose, remembering that I am alive for a reason. "Today I will discover one more reason to be thankful"-if only we could acquire this outlook, our lives would be different.
The rest of my life begins today. The rest of your life begins today. Do something great: love! Wake up to the present moment and do not let your past define you or keep you from seeing the great things God wants to do with you. May we encounter today as a gift; an ever new beginning given to us by our Good God.
Grace and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
ROCIO PEREZ
