“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time: And all our yesterdays have lighted fools, The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”
This is the despairing viewpoint of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth as he comes to the close of his life. Unfortunately, many people have been caught in the clutches of this pessimistic view of life, thinking that life has no ultimate purpose for good. We must, however, note the pretext and context of Macbeth’s words. At this point in his life he is experiencing madness as a result of the murderous rampage that he and his wife, Lady Macbeth, have inflicted on the people of their country because of their own selfish ambitions. At this point in his life he has received the news that his wife, being unable to deal with the guilt and torment of their misdeeds, has committed suicide.
When the guilt of your past is haunting you, and the hope of your future seems to bring more of the same, it is difficult to have an optimistic viewpoint on life. Yet, I suggest that if we discipline ourselves to face our guilt and shame, we can leave yesterday’s baggage behind and forge ahead with the hope that every tomorrow will bring with it the joy and excitement of living in a new day.
With the daily discipline of discarding the old and accepting the new, every ‘today’ will bring with it fresh passion for living. Then there may be no need for yesterdays or tomorrows because the success of today becomes our perpetual state of living. In that state of mind, everyday gives us an upgrade from yesterday, and who needs thoughts of tomorrow when you always have great todays.