Seeds: Success is a matter of being here now, letting go of past

By: Nigel Alston | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: November 22, 2009

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Searching through various documents and files recently for a quote, I came across an excerpt from the novel Mission Success by Og Mandino that I used to read every morning, particularly a section of the book called "The Seeds of Success." It was an accidental yet pleasant rediscovery and awakening. And right on time.

I immediately shared it with others. "I needed this today!" a pastor told me. A long-time friend said, "Thanks for sending this … I have forwarded it to friends and family and received … the same positive response I had when I first read it."

God, I thank you for this day. I know I have not accomplished as yet all you expect of me, and if that is your reason for bathing me in the fresh dew of another dawn, I am most grateful.

It is, as the letters on my license tag represent (AGDAYAG), another good day above ground. I am grateful for today. I have another chance to write another column. I appreciate the people who read it and share their thoughts -- those who agree and disagree. I am thankful for my wife, family and friends (we take too much for granted) and the opportunity to enjoy another Thanksgiving.

I am prepared, at last, to make you proud of me. I will treasure this day, for it is all I have. I know that its rushing hours cannot be accumulated or stored, like precious grain, for future use.

This day is all we have. We should cherish it, for we are not promised tomorrow, and there is nothing we can do about yesterday.

I will forget yesterday, with all it trials, aggravations and setbacks, angers and frustrations. The past is already a dream from which I can neither retrieve a single word nor erase any foolish deeds.

That is worth reading over and over again. While we can't change the past (some of us try and we worry about it, too), we can make amends if we have offended anyone through our thoughtlessness. Putting the past behind us is important, but worrying about what's next causes pain, too. That is an important "seed for success" in the message:

I will not fret the future. My success and happiness do not depend on straining to see what lurks dimly on the horizon but to do, this day, what lies clearly at hand.

A friend who is dealing with some medical problems told me the message was timed perfectly for him. "I will print this and put it in my journal where I will be reminded to read it often," he said.

Another friend was touched by this line:

Now I understand the secret of correcting the attitude of others and that is to correct my own.

"I've already had to go to someone to get myself an attitude adjustment today," she said.

I will waste not even a precious second today in anger or hate or jealousy or selfishness. I know that the seeds I sow I will harvest, because every action, good or bad, is always followed by an equal reaction. I will plant only good seeds this day.

What if we all did that daily, planted only good seeds?

I will pause whenever I am feeling sorry for myself today, and remember that this is the only day I have and I must play it to the fullest. What my part may signify in the great whole, I may not recognize, but I am here to play it and now is the time. I will count this day a separate life.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy the food, the fellowship, football games, movies and friends associated with the day and the season that follows. I am getting a little ahead of myself, though. Be thankful for today, and plant the "seeds of success" as you rejoice and be glad in it.

This is your day!

PS: If you would like a copy of "The Seeds of Success," send me an e-mail.

Nigel Alston lives in Winston-Salem. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.