What Have We Done Today

A good question to ask, what have we done today? The verses, in this poem by Nixon Waterman, point out that it doesn't matter what has happened in the past, nor what your plans are for tomorrow, what matters is what you do today.

Those who wish a different present may ask themselves the question, what I have done today to change where I want to be, or what do I want alternatively to the undesirables of today? For some, the "if only I had done" thought permeates every waking moment of their lives, but, nothing ever seems to change. For others, what lies ahead is clear; they are not stuck in their current circumstances. The question is, therefore, what is different for the latter and not the former?

We've probably all heard the stories of several hundred people who seem to be able to dig their way out of what may seem like a bottomless pit. We have heard or read of how they defeated pessimism that surrounded their quest to move beyond what they were currently living in or through. The answer, for some, is that they were just plain old lucky in life. This "luck" experienced by some seems to never be within the grasp of thousands of others who wish to have more, be more and find what they define as the pinnacle of happiness. But, is "luck" really what separates some people from those who never succeed in accomplishing what they want?

The answer to the seemingly unobtainable "luck" rests within the following lines of Nixon Waterman's poem:
"We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?"

The poet describes what true luck is, and that is that action meets opportunity that results in the accomplishment of some sort or another, in this case, "joy" from what has been sown. You'll notice that there has to be an action (to sow) in order for a gain to be made. Hence, it is not that one person is luckier than another. Instead, the difference between that person who has gained something, or acquired something rests within each of us. That which rests within each of us is not only to want something better and different, it is also to have a dream or a vision of what it is exactly that one wishes to obtain. And, accompanying this vision or dream is to put that thought or thoughts into action. And, coupled with action is to follow a detailed, well-written plan of action that ultimately leads to the final goal. Just to be clear; it is not taking just any action. It is taking action steps that follow a sequence consistent with a proper path (that is, a plan) where culminating action leads directly to the obtainment of one step in the overall plan. So, let's digress backward to a question to ask yourself today. What have you done today?

Short Poems & Quotes / Famous Poems / Nixon Waterman Poems / What Have We Done Today - in Inspirational Poems

What Have We Done Today?
by Nixon Waterman

We shall do so much in the years to come,
But what have we done today?
We shall give our gold in a princely sum,
But what did we give today?
We shall lift the heart, and dry the tear,
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear,
We shall speak the words of love and cheer,
But what did we speak today?

We shall be so kind in the afterwhile,
But what have we been today?
We shall bring to each lonely life a smile,
But what have we brought today?
We shall give to truth a grander birth,
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth,
We shall feed the hungering souls of earth,
But whom have we fed today?

We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?
We shall build us mansions in the sky,
But what have we built today?
’Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask,
But here and now do we do our task?
Yes, this is the thing our souls must ask,
"What have we done today?"

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