Life is Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

At home, at work, on the road, or during a conversation, our elders often remind us and give us advice with the words "everything in its time". Since I grew up with these words, I would be lying if I said that I don't use this phrase when the time and place comes. 

I used to ask myself when I was a child, when I was still in primary school, why this sentence was said so often by our elders. I couldn't find a logical answer then either. When I reached middle school age, my curiosity increased even more and one day I gathered all my courage and asked an elder about this sentence. I was so impressed by what he told me that I still remember it word for word:

"Look son, yesterday, today and tomorrow are the inseparable trinity of the reality of life. They are triplet brothers or triplets traveling arm in arm on an endless journey through time. Even though they are inseparable, inseparable, all three have different values. Therefore, we should evaluate each of them both together and separately. 

The positive and logical steps we took yesterday will help us spend today properly. We cannot ignore yesterday. Yesterday is not disconnected from today. 

The positive and negative steps we take today and the decisions we make will shape our tomorrow in the same way. Therefore, think before you do anything. Make a good plan. Then take steps and do everything on time. This is the secret of life, son."

As I grew older, I understood more deeply the philosophy of life that this elder had put into these two or three words. It became my indispensable principle both in my professional (military) life and in my social life. I am grateful to him. 

I also found the poem "neither in nor out of time" by the famous poet Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, which I came across in a book in my youth, to be important. I realized that the lines "neither in nor completely out of time, but in the indivisible flow of a single vast moment" describe an indivisible moment that includes yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

In fact, human beings do not have equal access to any resource except time. Time is a scarce resource. Once consumed, it cannot be consumed again. "Time is an infinity that cannot be measured." We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it. The more we can learn and the more we can educate ourselves, the more we will live the next moment without regret. The steps we take today, the plans we make, the decisions we make reveal the picture of tomorrow. The saying "one day is worth two tomorrows", the source of which I cannot remember, reflects exactly my philosophy of life. 

Again, a saying related to this phenomenon came to my mind; "one day is lost when two days are equal." This saying actually reflects a simple truth. "Today" is the period of time we still have. "Tomorrow" is an imagined present. It is our mind's projection and fiction of the future. "Today we have to do better than yesterday and tomorrow we have to do even better". Human beings always want to progress, to renew, to learn new things. Generally, it is difficult to take the first step. Without taking the first step, we can never move forward, we remain where we are. Life is difficult. It is getting harder and harder. But the beautiful thing about it is the generosity of giving us the chance to take the first step every day, every moment. This is a gift from God. Sometimes a book you read can change your life as it changed mine!

Having passed such a life test, I entered the magical world of words and now I share my feelings with you through my writings. A phone call you receive when you least expect it can be the harbinger of an important relationship and the initiator of radical changes. 

Sometimes, an apology in a relationship can make a heart grow fonder. A question we ask at a conference we attend, a piece of information we acquire can open new doors in our ongoing lives. For now, these are the things that come to my mind as I sit here writing. These are always the first steps. We do not know where the path of life will take us, what stages it will take us through, at which stops it will drop us off. Rich experiences are gained through these steps. Sometimes we gain opportunities that we could not even imagine. It is a mistake to freeze in indecision and fear before the first step. We should know that God helps every one of His servants who takes the first steps bravely, who works, who wants to progress. As long as he is good and right. 

As long as we live, life offers us many opportunities. Life, here is your opportunity. Think, use your mind and take initiative. Work, strive and find the way to new opportunities. If we do not realize these opportunities, think about them and take the first step, the opportunity that comes to our feet will fly away. The regret we feel afterwards will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Every step we fail to take, every wasted period of time brings us only unhappiness and distances us from our goals. Human beings have a tendency to underestimate small steps. Perhaps that is why the first steps are so difficult. The saying "starting is half the battle" is the most accurate expression of this fact. Unfortunately, Turkish people have the characteristic of "postponing" everything and this is a sociological reality. We must accept this, become aware of it, overcome it and change it. 

"Yesterday" is experience and "today" is the reality of yesterday. If we have learned the right lessons from yesterday, we will gain new knowledge and experience today. You cannot erase yesterday, you can write tomorrow, and today is an opportunity, and you can make the best use of it.

We must remember that the world is three days; yesterday, today, tomorrow. In these three days, people are given 24 hours or 24×60=1,440 minutes every morning. This is a gift from the Almighty Creator. Mostly we do not appreciate it. Just as we do not know the value of the breath we take, the water we drink, the nature we live in, we forget it. Every minute, every hour is an opportunity for us, for humanity, for the world, to do good, right and useful things, to produce, to find innovations. Those who sweat for humanity brighten both their own future and the future of humanity.

Mevlana once said:

"Don't say you will do it tomorrow, don't say you will do it tomorrow, today was yesterday's tomorrow, what could you do?"

Please let's use our time well together. Let's not deal with empty work. Our mind is our greatest treasure, we do not have the luxury of wasting it. The situation our country is in today is not only the work of those who govern us, but also the work of us individuals who do not read and question.

I say stay with respect and love.