The letters are ordered in accordance with their frequency in the French language.

A man blinked only his left eye to select each letter as the alphabet was recited to him slowly, over and over again. In the same way, he was eventually able to compose the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

His name is Jean-Dominique Bauby. He was a well-known French journalist, author, editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE, the father of two young children, and a 44-year-old man.

On December 8, 1995, at the age of 43, he suffered a massive stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid allowing him to see. This rare condition is called Locked-in Syndrome, a condition wherein the mental faculties are intact but the entire body is paralyzed.

He said that he would be very pleased if he could wipe the saliva off his mouth. He couldn’t even brush a fly away from his nose. He recalled how good and precious every last moment was.

There is a poet, Park Jin-sik, suffering from a rare disease that causes his body to turn to literal stone. As he can’t grasp a pen with his hand, he uses a stick held in his mouth to type on the keyboard. Despite his condition, he has written essays and poems.

“I wish I could get up from the bed by myself, without any help from others and see the morning sun. I wish I could do any work, even menial jobs. I wish I could eat food, even overcooked ramen, while wiping the sweat.”

These lines are a part of his poem “Wish”.

Our days are so full and busy that we easily forget how fragile life really is. We sometimes complain about our daily routine such as getting up in the morning, going to work, and so on. These daily complaints could be someone’s wish. We take life, even a moment, for granted and don’t realize how good and precious now is. And we even wait for holidays or birthdays to show people that we care. Every moment is unique and irreplaceable. We have been given time that can be invested or wasted, hours that can be used or misused.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist. He said, “To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”

And there is a phrase, “carpe diem”. It is part of the longer “carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” which can be usually translated as “Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future).” The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one’s future better.

“Are YOU reading this article LIVING FOR TODAY?"

I meet a lot of students in class, giving up their need to enjoy their cultures, even their lives for their unforeseen future. Most of them say, “I am busy studying for a job. I can’t waste my precious time with my family, meeting friends, having a boyfriend or girlfriend, travelling, and so on. I can do those after having a job. So I will enjoy my life LATER, not NOW.” They put off things that are more important than they think and they lie to themselves by saying that they will do them later. I can see that happiness that comes from enjoying something in the moment disappears in their lives. Preparing for the future is a great thing of course. But to live life to the fullest, we should live in the moment and cherish every moment we have. Then, how can we seize the moment and live for today? I would say that whatever you want and need to do, do it now! Today is the tomorrow you planned for yesterday, so start today. Learn the lessons from yesterday and move on. And every minute of our lives has an expiration date which is “NOW!” Once a moment has passed, it is gone forever except in our memories. Cherishing moments helps you feel thankful for life, but also helps you to live for today.

I really want you to live for today and keep in mind a line from the film (Kung Fu Panda).

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”