I believe in living today. Not in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.

“I believe in living today. Not in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.”
So spoke Loretta Young, the luminous actress of Hollywood’s golden age — a woman whose grace was matched only by her quiet wisdom. In an age dazzled by dreams of fame and haunted by regrets of failure, her words shone with a still and sacred truth: that life is now. Not in the ashes of what has been, nor in the mist of what might be, but in the heartbeat that moves through this very moment. The present — fleeting, fragile, yet divine — is the only ground on which the soul can truly stand.

Loretta Young’s life was not one of idle comfort. She rose from the poverty of childhood to the glittering stages of the silver screen, endured scandals, and bore the burdens of fame that time often conceals. Yet through every trial, she learned that to dwell on yesterday is to chain the soul to shadows, and to obsess over tomorrow is to chase a mirage. She came to understand what the sages of old proclaimed: that each day is a universe complete unto itself, filled with light for those who will open their eyes and live it fully.

The ancients too spoke this truth in their way. Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, wrote in his Meditations: “Confine yourself to the present.” For he knew that the mind which wanders backward in regret or forward in fear loses the strength of the hour. When Rome trembled and his armies faltered, Aurelius stood firm not because he foresaw the future, but because he ruled his own heart in the moment. Thus he lived — calm amidst turmoil, wise amidst the clamor of empire — a living testament to what it means to dwell wholly in today.

We are wanderers through time, yet the paths of yesterday and tomorrow are illusions to the living heart. Yesterday is but the echo of choices already cast; its lessons may guide us, but its pain should not bind us. Tomorrow is a promise not yet born; its hopes may inspire, but its uncertainty should not consume. The wise do not flee the past nor fear the future — they draw breath in the sacred present and shape eternity with the work of their hands now.

Consider the life of Helen Keller, who could neither see the sun nor hear the song of the world, yet whose spirit burned brighter than many who had both sight and sound. She once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” And her vision was not of distant tomorrows; it was of each day’s possibility — the miracle of learning one word, of feeling one hand, of grasping one truth. Her life was proof that living today, in fullness and faith, can turn even darkness into glory.

The meaning of Young’s words, then, is not the denial of time, but its mastery. To live today is to meet the present with courage — to forgive, to love, to strive, and to be awake. The man who lives in the past mourns his chains; the one who lives in the future fears his fate. But the one who lives now becomes a creator of life itself. For all the power that ever was or will be is gathered in this single, shining instant — the eternal now that the wise have always cherished.

So let this be your lesson: do not delay your living. Speak the word of kindness today, for tomorrow may never hear it. Begin the work of your heart today, for yesterday cannot build it. If you must dream, let your dreams inspire action, not escape. If you must remember, let your memories teach, not torment. Rise each dawn as though it were your first, and lay your head at night as though it were your last — for in truth, each day is both birth and death, beginning and completion.

And so, children of time, remember the voice of Loretta Young, gentle yet firm: “I believe in living today.” Take it as a vow — to meet the sunrise without fear, to embrace the fleeting beauty of the hour, and to give your best to the moment before you. For the soul that learns to dwell in today walks in freedom — not bound by what was, nor blinded by what may be — but alive, radiant, and whole in the living breath of now.