forget regret

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the
past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not
yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth
remembering."

so much easier said than done. but i'm gonna try. well, i am typing this on sunday night. i am avoiding chopping some jicama for a salad i am taking to a SIN BBQ tomorrow. I look forward to getting out of the house and having some fun. i haven't cooked at home in quite a while.

i watched the national memorial day tv special and got a big lump in my throat. so many of our citizens fall into line in order to preserve the lifestyles and the ideals that i so often take for granted. i would never have been accepted into the service, but i never wanted to be, either. but the ones who give so freely of their time. and so freely of their hearts, their bodies, and their souls, really do merit acknowledgement from me. and i don't take the time or put the effort forth enough.

so often, i see scruffy men along the roadsides with cardboard placards etched in marker saying things like " homeless veteran- can't work- anything will help". my first reaction is always to look at their faces to discern the evidence of substance use. this is a nasty habit of mine and one of complete hypocrisy. i self-medicated for years, so where do i think i get the free pass to judge anyone else's? and yet i do. i rarely give money and i tell myself that i don't want to enable their addiction. but i think that is just a lotta bull. i don't take the time to recognize their humanity. i don't take a moment to honor their service and their dignity.

i realize that today is memorial day and not veteran's day, but i had this on my mind. i have things to work on certainly. maybe today is a good day to start...