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Good morning.Ìý Those were the days, eh? ... when they made you go on long walks.Ìý We puffed up Lake District fells along rocky paths running with water and through bogs.Ìý The adults would look at books and the maps.Ìý The youngsters aimed for the chocolate on the top and a can of something cooling.Ìý The greatest pleasure came when the route back meant you could gallop downhill with the wind in your face.Ìý Nowadays I find it works the other way.Ìý The climb probably requires several more stops to admire the view, but coming down – oh that’s very different.Ìý It’s a strain on the knees and has to be done cautiously.Ìý And so it’s mirrored in the way we live our lives, thinking ahead all the time, anticipating what might happen, whether we might fall or twist something.Ìý We try not to put ourselves in harm’s way and health and safety becomes a way of life.Ìý We count it a success if we’ve managed to stay in one piece before the end of the day.

A hike in the hills you might say is reasonably predictable, what’s likely to occur in our day is something different.

‘On this day ...’ we listen to the stories of the past and wonder at all the things that have changed the world:Ìý the good, amusing, historic and tragic.Ìý That’s today.Ìý Anything could happen tomorrow.Ìý I wonder ... looking back what journalist John McCarthy’s day was like 20 years ago on this day. He would have been getting ready for tomorrow’s job in Lebanon.Ìý Today was fine.Ìý Tomorrow he would find himself abducted on his way to the airport in the war-torn capital, Beirut, and his life would be changed.Ìý

Anything might happen for us tomorrow so perhaps that could influence the way we live this next 24 hours.

So a prayer for today might be:Ìý Lord, help me to be mindful of the needs and worries of others.Ìý Guide me through the day and help me to appreciate each moment.Ìý Amen.
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