Tomorrow

"The sun'll come out...tomorrow...bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow...there'll be sun..."

Anyone remember this song? From the musical Annie, where Little Orphan Annie tries to always be an optimistic force in her own dark and difficult young life by reminding us that there is always tomorrow to look forward to.

The song itself was my go-to belt out song when I was 8, as it was for all of us young aspiring singers who finally had a glorious and sweeping show tune that was (somewhat) in our own range, written for someone of our (somewhat) age to sing.

While as a kid I sang this song constantly (around the house, in the car along with the 8-track tape, and at a school concert), I'll be honest, I've never actually paid much attention to the words.

They became very clear to me last night.

Last night my husband was on a work phone call to India.  He got on the call at 9 pm MST, while it was simultaneously 8:30 a.m. the following morning for the people he was talking to.

For some reason, this made my brain fizz over just a little bit.

Now I'm well aware of the Earth's rotation and time zones (although for the life of me I cannot figure out why this part of India is 11.5 hours ahead, not simply 11 or 12) and I completely understand the concept of the International Date Line and all of that.  But as he was physically talking to people who were already well into the next day that we couldn't even imagine, those lyrics started going through my head...

"The sun'll come out..tomorrow..."

For them, the sun had already come out.  For us, it had just set.  And combining this extremely simplistic, yet also mind-blowing concept with what I've been going through for the past few months (and especially week) made an idea strike me with the great force of a lightning bolt...although I had known it all along.

Never give up. 

No matter what.

There will always be tomorrow, which means there will always be a possibility of your current situation improving.  As long as the Earth is turning (and the scientists say that this should continue for several million more years), there is always tomorrow.

I don't mean that we should wish our lives away and keep looking toward the future with no concern for what's going on TODAY,  in the present moment.  But when you've been worn down and despondent and you can't seem to find the hope you stashed away for when you needed it most, it helps to remember that no matter how bad things were today, or yesterday, or for the past week, there is always tomorrow.

This doesn't mean that your problems will magically disappear with the rising of the next sun.  But it does mean that there's a chance that tomorrow will be better than today was.  Yes, there's also a chance that it could be worse, but it COULD be better.  People in their deepest, darkest moments of despair leap from bridges or take a mountain of sleeping pills because they can't see a way out of their hopelessness and anguish for one more moment.  They are stuck in their heads and are unable to see the big picture of concepts like tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or the possibility that they will be anywhere other than where they are right now at that horrible destructive all-consuming moment.

Please don't let that happen to you.  Yes, we all go through challenges in life, but it's up to us to not allow ourselves to get mired down in them.  Life is filled with ups and downs and sometimes we get hit by more downs than ups.  It happens. But the ups will still be there - in fact, they are just waiting for us to get through with the downs to provide a springboard toward the next ones.  When do those happen?

Tomorrow.

Or if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Or the day after that day.  But please always always remember that no matter how bleak or dismal or hopeless today seems, the sun will rise tomorrow, and in fact, depending on where you live, it's already up and people have already lived a whole half of one of their days on Earth.  Be encouraged.  Have faith.  Don't give up.

The sun'll come out tomorrow.