Live in the Now…

The past cannot be changed, and the future can only be determined by what you do now.

A long, long time ago, there was a very famous Clothing Maker.  She made the most heavenly-looking dresses, dresses well sought after by noble ladies, princesses, and queens from the four corners of the world.  She was also blessed with a caring husband and two beautiful children. 

Soon, her distinctive design and sewing skills and fame reached the ear of an Old Woman who lived oceans apart and deep in the woods of the world’s highest mountain.  This Old Woman used to have the most stunning appearance.  Her beauty envied by many women and loved by countless men.  But years flew past and she turned haggard and withered.   Thus, she stayed hidden in this secluded land so others would not be able to see how “ugly” she has become.  This exceptional clothing maker was her ticket out.

So, the Clothing Maker was summoned to Old Woman’s forbidden abode. “Design the world’s most exquisite dress that would make me look beautiful and young again!”  Confidently, the Clothing Maker then went to work to create “the world’s most exquisite dress” for this rich Old Woman.  And the day came when the Clothing Maker completed one of her best creations and sent it to the Old Woman.  The richness of the red velvet dress sewn together with sparkling rubies did look truly magnificent.  But no matter how the Old Woman turned and posed in front of the mirror, she looked the same – hunched and wrinkled.  “How could this be?!” thought the Clothing Maker, alarmed and confused.  She was the best clothing maker in the world after all!  There was no way she could not make the Old Woman looked good.  So it was that the Clothing Maker was sent home, without pay.

Clothing Maker then locked herself in her sewing room, trying to re-make the dress for the Old Woman…days passed, the house was left unattended, her family uncared for…then, years went by, her family moved away, thick dust and cobwebs settled in the house…ignorant to her surroundings, she pushed doggedly ahead.  Then, one day, the Old Woman passed away…Clothing Maker was devastated that she still couldn’t make the perfect dress for the Old Woman before she died.  With this realization, she suddenly felt a draft of cold air swept passed her, smelled the pungent odor of her unwashed body, heard the eerie silence of the house, and for the first time in years, saw that she had nothing left.

Live in the now.