I don't know how many times I've come across this line, but somehow, I've allowed it to get overrun with other thoughts and other feelings. Just never spent enough time on it to let it sink in...something about it grabbed me today - could it be that it is one of those days when one needs a boost? or when the tender spots in one's heart are aching? or when the beauty of the rain-washed world is making me hear the birds, and see the tender shoots of the Ashoka just outside my window? or is it just some deep subconscious stirring? Whatever the reason, this line has jolted me...and I need to pause on it for a while. What is it trying to say - Today is the First Day of the Rest of my Life. For one thing, it is a releasing thought, because I can safely put yesterday firmly behind. The night does put a total end to the day. Ever thought about it?...No carry-overs required to get through the new day, no spillovers coming through to color the new day, no long shadows needed to either spoil or cover the new day, nothing. It's just a brand new day, and I have to think of it as the FIRST DAY. So, what would I do on a First Day? I think I would like to keep all the windows open to let the outside in. Then, I would listen to all the sounds - of birds mainly, of people, of the traffic, of children, of vendors and hawkers, of music coming from somewhere, of someone cooking, of the silence...I would go through my mail carefully, the bacons, as well as the personal - not just a cursory glance at the first line, a few words in the middle and the last line, and then fill in the gaps with my own thinking and understanding. I would go through the papers, make myself fairly aware of happenings in the world, and then spend time on the crossword. I would spend time with my needlecraft, and while doing that let my thoughts wander...I would read, and rest my mind. Have you noticed how tired your mind gets if you let it wander? Mine does, and I am learning to make my mind dwell only on the moment I'm in just now...I read a beautiful thought the other day about how we should make each moment spiritual. That has nothing religious to it, but it does make every moment, a moment of wonder - and you see you have to stop and think - is this real person, really me? (something getting caught up in the chores of the day does not allow for. In fact, I'm realizing that if I do each chore as if it is the first time I'm doing it, and give it my 100%, then strangely, the tedium vanishes). In any case, how many chores would you do on your First Day. Half the time we end up forcing ourselves to do thousands of chores that really need not be done today. Today, I am waking up, happy to be alive, happy to be in my own little home, in my own space and with the things that bring me happiness and peace all around me, happy to be with those I love and who love me, and happy to be doing what I am doing, and importantly, happy to be where I am...If today goes well, there will be a warm glow when I rest my head at night, and if today does not go well, there is still tomorrow to make the First Day of the rest of my life!! Blissful thought!!