Johann W. Göthe and the preciousness of the day

Nothing can be appreciated more than the value of this day.

Johann Wolfgang von Göthe

Why should we value nothing more than the value of this day? After all, there are a variety of things we could value. For example, friendship, love, or physical necessities like food.

If we think the scenario a little further, however, we notice that we can only have all these things today, or in other words, in the here and now.

We may remember past friends and partners, or last Wednesday's exquisite meal, however, this is only a memory.

Likewise, we can imagine futures in which we are in a cozy coffee in a small French town with a picture-perfect partner - but this is only a fantasy. Whether remembering or fantasizing about something, you can do both of these only in the now.

Only in the here and now do we have the possibility to really tackle things. The past and the future exist only in our head. Of course, it is important that we align our actions today so that tomorrow we are still doing well. Also, we should not let ourselves mess up today because we had a bad day yesterday.

How we decide today who we are and what we do is the important thing.
What I personally like about this quote is that it is very easy to take to heart. When you get up in the morning, the first thing you do is give yourself a big smile that you woke up today. Many people went to bed yesterday and didn't get up today.

You do.

Give yourself a big smile and then approach the day with good intentions.

Treasures also past days

In this quote, Göthe spoke of valuing nothing more highly than the present day. He did not say, however, that one should not also value yesterday.

And that is plausible. It can be wonderful to remember the past. This can sometimes mean that you feel gratitude for beautiful experiences, or that you had learned something from him.

Nevertheless, it is today that deserves most of our attention.

Appreciate also coming days

Of course, tomorrow is never guaranteed, so it makes sense not to get too tense about the future, but it definitely makes sense to let your own actions be determined to some degree by what can be beneficial for tomorrow.

Be it planting a tree or saving money for the future. Most of the time, such action has led to a good today.

And that also makes coming days worth appreciating. Not only today.

But Göthe just said: guess nothing higher than today.

And that is right and important. Because it is the only day that we actually have.

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