Looking back is my weakness. I remember as a little girl, describing to my mom this almost-delicious sadness I was feeling about time past, and she taught me, "What you're feeling is nostalgia." As I have grown up and as each year passes, this longing for what once was has been a sort of beautiful plague that I can't quite shake. Maybe it's called being sentimental. But so often it keeps me from living fully and mindfully in the present. When Nostalgia invites me to sit and reminisce, Sadness almost always comes knocking at the door. If I'm not careful, these guests of mine linger longer than is good for me. What I have to do is remember to ask Gratitude to join us. When I can be grateful for my precious past, then Reprieve soon comes to my rescue and ushers me to the everlasting Now, where I am learning to remain. Today was not my best day. New England rained every hour and I couldn't help but reflect the austere clouds. I could have been more than I was. But the mercy of tomorrow is a beautiful thing. "Each day means a new 24 hours. Each day means everything is possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time" (Marie Lu, Legend). I take hope in the grace that tomorrow comes.