Seize The Day

By Judith Ortiz Cofer

Remember to wake early and take your time in rising.
Enter the world refreshed by the hope emitted by each atom of light,
by the bird who must sing at the sight of the sun.
Does he pity us humans,
who can choose not to break into song at dawn?

Look for small revelations all day.

Let water heal your body.
Think of bathing as a ritual of new beginnings.

Step outside and breathe deeply.
Take in the smells of life, good and foul.
Remember this day is a gift.

Be surprised by nature that shares your world of giant steps.
The bug that irks you,
the yellow butterfly that catches your eye,
and the furred thing with sharp teeth that repels you –
are all in your moment of history.

Concentrate on living hour by hour as if you were feeding coins
into a meter measuring your life.
Here is this hour, and you have already paid for it.

Love your work, and enjoy your play.
Remember, there is little lasting joy in things
done only for gold or fame.
Without love your spirit will be a flower picked without purpose
and thrown on the ground to be trampled by anyone.

Have a place and a time to sit with your thoughts.
Pray before sleep, or read a great poem.
Sacred words will clear your crowded mind.

Welcome the night.
Good sleep is your body’s mending time.
In its sweet release, the fires of worry and anger will be subdued;
and in dreams you may learn to fly above any blaze,
and let your secret self float free above a new world.
You must imagine and learn to embrace each and every day.