When you're a kid, it's easy to feel like when you go to sleep, the world turns off until you wake up. It's not until you get older that you realize that half the Earth's darkness makes way for the other half to have light. This concept raised the question in my mind, "how long is a day?"
According to our clocks, it's 24 hours. or 1440 minutes or 86400 seconds depending on how deep you want to go. Regardless of whether you wish you had more than 24 hours in the day, the world has agreed that 24 hours is all you get. But does the day really ever end? For individuals, yes. The day comes to a close and begins anew at 12:00am.
But does the day really ever end?
Regardless of if you're asleep or awake when that hour comes, it took a mere one second for today to become yesterday, and tomorrow to become today.
This is where it gets fun. Humor me.
Have you ever thought about the fact that at any given time, your today is someone's yesterday and someone else's today is your tomorrow?
Yep, let that one simmer for a second..
Anyway, I did some heavy thinking about this concept back in December of 2018. Sometimes I find that in attempt to understand something that puzzles me I often resort to writing. Sometimes my writing brings clarity to the situation, and other times it makes the concept even more abstract. The following is a poem that helped me to dissect what all can happen in the course of one day.
"How Long is a Day?" by Hamilton Winters
A baby was born in a hotel room bed
A dog was rescued from a house burning red
A village was struck with an awful earthquake
A handful died, but many more were saved
A pileup occurred on the streets late at night
Good samaritans pitched in when it wasn’t their fight
A drug addict put the needle down for the first time in years
His family embraced as they let out their tears
A woman on the brink of taking her life
Found a book in a dresser that made her think twice
A young man and young women answered the call into service
To put on a uniform, to go out and serve us
A captain got lost as he braved the sea foam
A lighthouse appeared to light his way home
A man having nothing found a glimmer of hope
When a passerby unzipped and then gave him his coat
A car chase ensued and raced through the city
Officers arrested, but showed the suspect some pity
A child in a hospital who’s cancer had spread
Was healed and released to sleep in her own bed
A friendship restored through years of a fight
A family estranged, brought together tonight
A plane was in peril as it’s engine lost power
But safely made it back with help from the tower
A young woman bound to a life on the streets
Awarded a second chance from a stranger she meets
A flood ravaged town that once suffered from drought
Folks from all over helped pull townspeople out
An atheist walked through a church door alone
Only to leave having found a new home
A loved one was taken with perfect behavior
Chosen to trade this life for eternity with the Savior.
As you open your eyes on any given day,
Could be sunny and warm, or rainy and gray,
You’ll probably think that the day’s just begun,
Until you realize the day is never really done.
All of the things that we’ve just brought to light,
Happened as you slept dreaming last night.
Just because your day has just seen its start,
God’s been working miracles on millions of hearts,
He’s been saving, and paving the paths of a few
Who will ultimately run into the person we call “you”
Now that they’re dreaming, and you’re wide awake,
Today is the day, you have a decision to make
To harness the miracles happening real-time
Or continue to live as the miracles pass you by
A day is a day, if that’s all that you make it
But a day is forever, if thats how far you’re willing to take it
There’s lives being saved, there’s hope through the sorrow,
That your friends who are dreaming now, will hear of tomorrow.
As night falls and my day comes to an end, I wonder what all has happened today that I'll never know about?
February 4th, 2020 wasn't a landmark day in the history of my life, but undoubtably it was in millions of others' lives across the globe. I'm not sure what February 5 will bring, but I challenge you with the same challenge that now confronts me. What will you do to make tomorrow memorable?
Take it one step further.
It's one thing to think about making your own day memorable, but what would it take to be the reason why someone else remembers February 5? While I can't promise that in your quest to make your own day, you'll accidentally make someone else's, I can nearly guarantee that by focusing on making someone else's day, you'll in turn make your own.
Here's to tomorrow. Cheers.
- hamilton