Secrets of the Scroll

From all the cartoons I've ever watched, I didn't take away a single message. Sure, they told me the consequences of being "bad", but I never paid attention and ended up finding out the hard way. This made me wonder if children actually learn from watching their favorite characters, or if it was just me who didn't.

Several days ago, I was watching Kung Fu Panda the TV show (which I must say, is very poor compared to the movies) and the storyline was this: Master Yao, the most renowned expert of spiritual and metaphysical Kung Fu, was traveling from his home to another village and made a stop at the Jade Palace. However, this master traveled meditating in box which he never came out from. The storyline doesn't matter much, but Master Yao ended up getting out of his box and madly running around the village, poking at simple, everyday items and asking what each one was. At the end of the episode, after he was caught by Po and Shifu, he was going back into his box and said, "Live each day as if it were your only one to live."
These words are now forever mended to my soul. It's a theoretical concept, and "live each day as if it were your last" makes more sense. However, thinking that each day is our last one, many of us will want to do things that are not too wise, like eating a tub of ice-cream or partying until we don't remember what happened. Throwing caution to the wind, we will want to celebrate our life in loud, flashy ways, and go out with a bang. The problem is, we're not going anywhere. The sun will keep rising and our lives will continue. Making each day like it is your only one to live is way more important than making it seem like your last. Imagining that this day is the only one you have, you would want to use your time wisely and make it worth smiling about. Listen to some music, spend time with friends, read a good book, enjoy a delicious meal, try a new activity, and learn something. Then repeat tomorrow.