Music & the Spoken Word: The Best Days Ahead
Contributed By The Tabernacle Choir
A father and two daughters walk down the road under an umbrella.
“Every day is worth living, and every day holds promise and possibility.”
Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This message was given December 29, 2019.
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. At first, that may seem like an overstatement. But while some days are clearly better than others, every day deserves at least the chance to be the best day of the year. That’s good to remember as we look forward to another year of “best days”—every day is worth living, and every day holds promise and possibility.
Emerson once wrote to his daughter while she was away at school: “Finish every day and be done with it. . . . You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. To-morrow is a new day; . . . begin it well and serenely. . . . It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the rotten yesterdays.”
The ability to live fully in the present—while continuing to look forward to the future—is the essence of hope. Yes, the past can give us wisdom and perspective, but it can also be disheartening if we stay there too long. Tomorrow is precious because it is yet unwritten, unlived, and full of opportunity. That’s why a sunrise, a new day, and a new year are so meaningful. They give us hope for better days ahead.
Very often, this truth is best understood by those who have more days behind them than in front of them. One such man was known to say, “Every day is precious—what a gift!” Or as a woman in her 80s used to say, “I’m so grateful for another day of life.” Whatever our age or stage of life, we can all give thanks for the opportunities that come with each new day.
What is it you want to do this year? What kind of person do you want to become? Maybe you want to read a little more, eat a little better, be a little kinder, and feel a little happier. Perhaps you want to slow down and enjoy life a little more, or maybe you want to be more productive and spend more time on things of lasting worth. Whatever your hopes may be, your “best days” are still ahead for you.
Tuning In . . .
The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL radio 1160 AM/102.7 FM, ksl.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, DISH and DIRECTV, SiriusXM radio (channel 143), The Tabernacle Choir’s website and YouTube channel, and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on many of these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at MusicandtheSpokenWord.org/schedules.
