In the poem written by Mikao Usui, he states:
Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.
Just for today, I will not worry.
Just for today I will not be angry.
Just for today, I will make an honest living.
Just for today, I will be kind to everything that has life.
While there are many translations of this poem, these words, "Just for today," never change. What does it mean to make a promise just for today?
To do something "just for today" requires you to be in the present, not worried about tomorrow, or last week, or next year. In our modern society, we spend so much time planning for the future, but now more than ever it is time to come back to our present selves and ask, What are we doing today, right now, to be the future we desire?
I'm the master of saying, "Tomorrow I will cut down on auto-gas consumption. Tomorrow I'll start taking 20 minute walks to the park." It's easy to plan, but it requires courage and presence of mind to act in the moment.
It can be very difficult to say, "Right now, although I have a lot on my plate, I'm going to walk to my neighborhood grocery instead of drive. Right now, I'm going to look with critical eyes at the choices I'm making, and ask whether they truly reflect my values for peace and health. Right now, I am going to slow down long enough to breathe and think before acting. Right now I am going to make that change before doing anything else."
Just for today is a call to arms, an invitation to look at today. Why is it important? This day is the microcosm of your whole life, your well of fortune and happiness. If you can not be present in today, then you are sleeping through it.
At the same time, I've also found a lot of passive comfort in beginning all sorts of goals and affirmations with "Just for today." It feels like a reminder that I don't have to kill myself trying to do whatever I'm intending. Rather, I can do something grand, something honest and beautiful, for a simple short term commitment. One day.
It is a lot easier to stop smoking and drinking for one day, than for a whole lifetime. Likewise, it can be easier to make commitments to eat healthy, meditate, or work on our processes for self-development, compassion, connection, or happiness when we only have to do it for one day.
What a casual, approachable way of making goals happen.
So ask yourself, what would you like to do "Just for today?"
Feel free to post your responses below, and Happy Healing!
~Dailey
© 2011 Dailey Little. You are welcome to reproduce this article provided you do so in its entirety, including the copyright and this blurb: "Dailey Little is a Reiki Master and active practitioner. She teaches Reiki & other fun stuff through her private practice in Santa Rosa, CA. Join her joyful community for ReikiShares, Free Clinics, and eco-activism by signing up at her website, www.SantaRosaReiki.com"