A close family friend, as healthy as you’d ever imagine, suffered a heart-attack on Thanksgiving morning. He went to bed on November 21st, but did not awake on the 22nd. Survived by his wife and two kids.
My neighbor is in his 40’s and was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. I played basketball with him just a few months before. His diagnosis surprised everybody—including him.
I recently received a phone call on an otherwise normal Tuesday morning that a friend of mine had lost his teenage daughter in an automobile accident the night before. As awful a news as anyone could ever receive.
Then there is the story of my relative, who showed up to work last summer, only to find her workplace being searched by the authorities as they investigated fraud. By the end of the week, she was without work.
And my parents, just yesterday, were in a car accident. Everybody is fine, fortunately. But their automobile was totaled.
Life changes fast. This season of life you are in could end at any time. Everything could change tomorrow.
Of course, tomorrow isn’t necessarily worse than today. It may change for the better.
In early December 2001, my wife walked into our living room to share important news with me, she was pregnant with our first child. My life forever changed that day.
Our best friends down the street received a job promotion that took them back home to Texas. My cousin, simply hanging out with friends one evening was introduced to a girl, who quickly became his girlfriend, and soon became his wife.
And my life changed dramatically for the better on a Saturday morning 10 years ago when my neighbor unexpectedly introduced me to minimalism—a conversation that changed my passion and eventually, my career.
They say the only constant in life is change. They are right.
Sometimes we plan out our lives—our days, our weeks, our years—and everything falls into place. But other times, we make our plans, only to have them upended by circumstances outside of our control.
Either way, the only constant is change. Life never remains the same. Sometimes it changes for the better, sometimes it changes for the worse, but always for something different than today.
I find myself reflecting on that fact this morning as I sit alone at this empty table. My life is good, and peaceful in this moment. My family is happy, and we are all healthy. I have friends I can rely on, extended family I enjoy being with, and our financial needs are being met doing work that I love.
lt is easy, I suppose, to think life will stay this way forever. But that is not the case. Everything could change as early as tomorrow.
This may cause some to worry. But I do not think the best response is to worry about the future. I mean, the change that is coming could be a positive one. Besides, worrying won’t change the future anyway. Change is going to happen whether you worry about it or not.
Instead, I think the best response is to fully appreciate this very moment, because it could change at any time.
If life is good, count your blessings, be thankful, and enjoy the moments—every single one of them. Slow down, take a deep breath, and savor this season as best you can.
If, on the other hand, your life is not in a good place, take heart, because change is coming. As the seasons change, so does life. Value love, faith, and hope. Find peace to accept the things you cannot change and courage to change the things you can. But through it all, remember, this is only a season. Things will change, they always do.
If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present. After all, we have no idea how long “today” will last… everything could change as soon as tomorrow.
Maureen Zottoli says
Thanks for this article. And I wish to point out the fact to a few of the nay sayers within the comments … within your lifetime, just know, whether of change planned or thrown upon you, change happens to us all and is not just a fact for religious audiences, but is a fact we all need to understand.
My father was a child raised within the period impacted by the depression. He lived simply, was content with what he had, but he had a deep fear of “not having” so he kept everything…because he just never knew when he would need it. When he died, it took a lot of people and many days of 24/7 processing to address his “treasures”. I made the decision to process my own treasures, so I would not burden my own children.
18 years earlier my mother had died. She had experienced the same period of the Great Depression as a child, but she had also lost her father at age 5. She had 3 other siblings and they all had few things in a small space and a mother who had to go to work in a factory to support them. She learned to care for a few things. So when my mother died, she had very few things. It took only an afternoon to process my mother’s possessions. And only my sister and I did it, at my father’s request.
My point is, this article helped me to get my head on straight. I knew immediately what my mom treasured. I really had no clue in many cases what importance was placed on the thousands of things my dad had. Some I did. So his children slowly and carefully processed every single item. What did he want us to learn or take from this item? Everything was processed.
Lol, but I became an organized pack rat. Last year, a friend helped me by sharing Joshua’s Becoming Minimalist email. I’m a work in progress.
I hope to own less and live more!
Thank you Joshua Becker for this article.
Cathy D says
This is so true and so needed right now. I just found out Thursday that the baby I am varying died at 8 weeks and now I am waiting for the miscarriage to start. Enjoy the time you have with loved ones because you never know why tomorrow holds.
Rosann Fuller says
My heart hurts for you. Blessings
Rosann Fuller says
My heart hurts for you. Blessings and care.
Maureen Zottoli says
Cathy D. My sympathies to you. I had the same experience. I am so sorry for your loss. Hugs.
Connie R. says
So sorry for your loss. My sister lost her baby at 8 months. Unfortunately, she never got over it. Please don’t be bitter and know that everything happens for a reason. God bless you.
Wendy says
Thanks Josh. I just read your article and was very moved. My life changed two years ago I became very ill and had to have surgery that took 5 months to recover from. I had to leave my job and had to learn to walk again. Now I am so much better. What I learned is that we cam be very adaptable. I learned to adjust to each change with grace and gratitude. You don’t know how strong you are until you are go are tested.
Elizabeth Carter says
Excellent article. I have many faults but lack of gratitude is not one of them. At almost 80 I am constantly amazed at how fortunate I am and I am eagerly looking forward to see what is ahead. Years ago I heard a speaker describe the Aristocracy of the Capable, how precious it is to be a member and how quickly it can be lost, and how important it is to treasure every moment.
Nicholette Anand says
I just happened to read this little essay first thing this morning, and it has set such a good tone of gratitude for my day and the week ahead. Thank you for your thoughtful writing!
Jaír Amores says
Hey! Here Jaír,
Thank you very much for your article. We must be content with being dissatisfied (resilience).
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Well, said, Joshua. We’ve experienced and observed so many unforeseen life-changing events that you’d think we’d be used to it by now. But, no, change is hard–even good changes. I’ve adopted the motto, Embrace change. Or, I should say, I’m attempting to adopt that motto!
Ann Thompson says
Wow this article fits my life right now. I lost my home to a fire 3 months ago and am going through the beginning stages of building a new home on the same site. My old has had many problems that I didn’t know how I could ever fix. Thanks to having good insurance I will have a new home that will be maintenance free. While I mourn all the things I lost I have always tried to remain optimistic that things will be better. I have always had gratitude for what I still have and know that other people have alot worse problems.
Andrea Sharb says
Taking the time to sit and focus on the breath, sounds as they come and go, or feelings in the body as they shift bring this idea front and center for me each day. Nothing has made me appreciate the fact that everything is constantly changing more than practicing mindfulness. Thank you for putting this important message out into the world this morning.
Julie says
Just beautiful, Thankyou!