Where does time go? It’s here and then it’s gone. If someone says that something will happen in twenty years, it sounds like forever. When you hit 40, 50 and beyond, you can look at twenty years ago in your rear view mirror and be totally astonished that those events could possibly have been so long ago.
How do we know what twenty years is truly worth, unless we discover a way to value today? In twenty years, what will your memory of today be like? You and I are in charge of the future. Not all of it, but at least the part that is a byproduct, or consequence of our today.
There was an old Charlton Heston movie called “Planet of the Apes.” He and his crew were aboard a spaceship and were traveling through space and time. They went forward to a future time which was thousands of years ahead of the time in which they were born. They crashed on what appeared to be an alien planet which had an inhabitable atmosphere for humans. On this planet the apes were able to talk and ran the show through their strength and violence. The humans were uneducated and subservient to the apes. After much adventure in the movie, he discovers a nearly completely destroyed, but highly recognizable remnant of the Statue of Liberty. What he realized was that they had crashed back to earth’s own future and that as a result of some nuclear blasts and other fantastic events, the earth had evolved this way. He realized it was because the people from his time had not been wise in their responsibilities as the people who were the stewards of that time.
However much fantasy was involved in that movie, it still reveals one truth. We are the stewards and caretakers of the time that we have here on this big blue marble. Today is not only the first day of the rest of your life; it is also the first day of the future of mankind. What we do with it matters a lot. Why? Not just because of what we do or do not do with it, but moreover because of what we do or do not teach our children and grandchildren about this life. If we teach them that what we do to each other in life matters, we send a message to the future. The same is true about other young people that see us every day. They see what we do and how we treat others. But this isn’t merely about character. This is deeper. It is about learning to keep a true perspective throughout the day on what is really important.
I coach a middle school, girl’s softball team. The other day the girls were getting goofy and a little out of control at a game. I brought them all together and told them that we needed to focus on what we were doing. One girl, politely said, “Yes, but we also need to have fun.” I responded, “Yes; but we also have to do our jobs to in order to play the game correctly and respect our teammates, as well as the other team.” She said, “Yes, that’s true, but we also need to have fun.” I said, “Yes, we do need to have fun too.” Then she said, “Yeah, but we do have to do our parts for the team.”
Right then everybody just looked at each other and we were all on the same page. By doing what we came to do and remembering to have fun doing it, everybody was going to enjoy their day. The outcome was that we all did have a great time and therefore, a great memory for twenty years from now….if I remember. Life is too short to forget the importance of today. Love much and play fair! Blessings!

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