|
The old hymn that spreads fulfilment in
'One day at a time, sweet Jesus', expresses
the day to day nature of our lives in
dependence on God; that because the world
is presumptuous in its ideas of achievement,
the truth of the words is obfuscated:
one day at a time is far too narrow for this world
with its grand projections; yet,
is nevertheless bound by the passage
of 'one day at a time'; that any day
could be one's last considered being
fatalistic, even though true…
Irritated, the person of the world will say,
if you do not plan for the future realistically,
you will never achieve anything; and he will point
to all the people in the world who have 'made a success'
out of their lives in careers. To planning for
the future, not one day at a time, but in
comprehensive stages, we owe our advanced
civilisation. He will say, if men had only lived
for the day, one day at a time, expecting
to die at any moment, and making this the major
pre-occupation of their lives, the preparation
for the next life of hymns - where would we be?
The paradox inherent in life is whereby
recognising our own imminent mortality, we
yet plan our future with the greatest foresight.
The resolution of this paradox is a fusion
of the two dimensions, whereby we recognise
that to live in the present is to fulfill
the future. One day at a time means
the future achieved in its entirety.
|
