FEATURE PIECE: THE CRIME OF NOT TREATING EACH DAY AS A SPECIAL GIFT

"Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." - Bil Keane

I woke up on Saturday and decided to sift through and clean out my wardrobe. At the bottom of my box, lying just beside my wedding gown was a transparent cellophane bag with a beautiful blue sexy dinner gown inside. I felt around it and brought it out. Evidently, the gown has been worn once and
then the memories flooded in.

I remembered that my spouse had given me the gown some eight years ago, and I had smiled like a little girl on receiving it. You see, the gown was in my favourite colour, blue, and so I had hugged the box it came in  tight. In my mind, I had proclaimed that I would wear it only when the day was special enough. In eight years, I had only worn it once - to our Council's manager's birthday bash when I was still working with the HR in a Local Government Council four years ago - thereafter, hoarding it like a treasure. Ironically, being a seasoned procrastinator and high-hoper, I haven't deemed a single day special enough again in four long years to actually wear what I had loved so much at first sight!

Well, most of us can relate with my story.  Happens to the best of us. If yours is not clothes, it will be something else. We are constantly searching for a better tomorrow while today slips away unnoticed, underutilized and unappreciated. Waiting for that special day and not even considering for a second that today could be that special day.Why not we dare to live our lives everyday instead of merely surviving and treat each day as special because it indeed is?

Deny it all you want but 'special days' and 'ordinary days' are states of the mind. Our minds. That subconcious part that we are totally in control of. All it takes is the WILL and COURAGE to face the truth, accept life with open arms, improve our circumstances, work towards a better tomorrow; not fighting life all the time.


Just thinking and hoping for a special day will hardly suffice. Simply waiting and doing nothing to juggle things around is sad, lethargic, and very uninspiring. And if you keep postponing, well, before you know you will be 100 with even lower motivation levels to go out on special days talk more of wearing a sexy dinner gown to one. Trust me, the smallest of actions taken can change your life into an extremely happy and satisfied state. It's not about becoming complacent, it's about being proactive and giving inner happiness a chance. After all, every living moment is a gift to be cherished.


Best believe, you will find special days if you actually want to find some for yourself. The human ability to push limits is super high and well-known. And if you are hell-bent on waiting, well, God is exceptionally benevolent in letting you do just that - a whole bundle of waiting spree at the end of a long life.You can never win with discontent, and the sour sound of whining will certainly frighten away any opportunity for success. There is always a better way and I found mine.

Back to my story, what did I do? Push the gown back in the bottom of my box and continue waiting for a special day? Never again! I asked myself, "you don't have to wear a mask to breathe, do you?" Many people in the world must. So, I brought the gown out, ironed it and hung it with the first visible hanger in my wardrobe. And all this was done that same day of discovering my hidden treasure - the gown!

Next day was Sunday, after church we all rested and
when it was time to prepare dinner, I had a surprise for the whole household. Dining out! Of course that dinner gown will wear itself no more or let the box hide its beauty no more. My special day was finally here, made by God and accepted by me.

And so, to my room I went, donned on my special dinner gown and when I came to the living room, my spouse's mouth was open in amazement. He had to close his mouth by blowing a whistle. Crazy guy, he obviously remembered the 8-years-ago gown as he told me, "spin around in style".
Let's just say his mirror-assessment and appraisal did wonders for my confidence levels. Imagine how liberating it is to know that you are not redundant. In fact, scratch that, that you are specially admired by a special person on a special day. My help and the kids all joined in the drama as they looked me all over (struggling to be as surreptitious as possible). Forget modesty and ask me about the feeling of exhilaration that something tucked at the bottom of a box can give!

That’s the magic of living for the present. I chose to  focus on the present and live my life with excitement.That’s actually one reason why I forced myself to  write this article: to remind myself of the magic of today. It’s easy to forget it. Sometimes the negative seems to be so much easier to identify forgetting we have so many things to be grateful for in life.

Little adjustment. Huge rewards. See how little time it takes to make a special day and make happiness a lifestyle? Happiness can be derived from the tiniest of things with the tiniest alterations in perception. I was happy and buoyant throughout the night and have been on an upward roll all through this week because I created my special day out of what I normally thought was an ordinary day. Everyday is special. My entire outlook towards life has changed and I now wake up an hour earlier trying to put in my best into my everyday.Each day is a special gift from
God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the intrusion of the vissisitudes of life and the handicaps of the moment to poison your daily joy.

Believe me when I say it would make a world of difference if you gave happiness a chance in your life. Just one chance. Be thankful for all that you are and your life is, strive to make it better, keep smiling, and make every breath count.The more you choose to
see each day as a special day, the more special each day will be for you. Don't brood away the opportunity you have today in search of a hypothetical special tomorrow. Your mental well-being will strengthen you to build a better tomorrow proactively.

Seize the day!