Living In The Now?

I am a lot more aware than I used to be of time and life slipping by. It doesn't bother or frighten me. I embrace death as a necessary part of being with God for eternity. But as I was doing my morning walk today, I found myself reflecting on - what I call The Numbing of the Now. Don't misunderstand me. I believe we need to live in the "here and now" and we must treasure each day as a gift from God - making sure we don't waste it by living in the past or dreaming about the future. Still, there is something deceptive and blinding about only seeing life as now.
As you get older, you begin to understand and feel the results of how you've been living over that past whatever years you've had. Maybe you never thought you'd live to be sixty, seventy, or eighty years old - but all of a sudden, that's what you are, and your quality of life is dependent on how you've lived during all those other years. People can live just fine in their thirties, forties, and fifties as overweight, sedentary, smokers, and feel no need - at the time - to change their life-styles and correct bad habits. After all - they feel fine! They have no idea what it will feel like to desperately want to be there for their child's wedding, or live to see that grand child graduate from college. Those things are not NOW! They are too far off and, they rationalize, there's plenty of time to change things before then. One day - then becomes now, and the law of sowing and reaping has no compassion or sympathy for our abuse, neglect, and poor self-control.
I'm healthy and active and feeling as good as I did twenty or thirty years ago, but I know it can't last forever - and that's okay. I may have to pay for too many hamburgers, too much chocolate candy, and too many trips to our favor Mexican Restaurant. I'm not sure I can say "It was worth it," but I'm not going to whine about "Why me" either. There will always be things I want to be around for, but you can't go to Heaven and still do everything you want.
So why am I writing this? Because I can and I want to, but really it's a challenge to those who are in that 20 to 50 age group who are still "living in the now". How do you want to feel when you're seventy? If you are doing things that are self-destructive now, you will pay later. Be wise. Learn from those who have gone before you, and get your head out of the now - at least long enough to add quality of life to your quantity of years.
(Coming Soon - Part Two: The Power of Prune Juice)