While I was finally cleaning out the closet in my den, I came across a column I had written 15 years ago.

It’s my version of a Just for Today column. It sums up in one column some of my deepest, ongoing beliefs. It’s how I find meaning and what makes me tick.

I was happy to see that the column is a relevant today as it was when I first wrote it.

I’m sharing it with readers with the thought that it might resonate with you, too. It might even inspire you to write your own version of Just for Today.

Here it is:

Just for today, I will love each and every moment of the day. I will regard each minute as a treasure … a special treasure that is mine, all mine.

Just for today I will celebrate life by being good to myself. I will put my “have to do” list on the back burner. I will spend as much of the day as possible doing what I want to do.

Just for today I will take time to smell the flowers, to feed the birds, to sit quietly, to inhale life.

Just for today I will be the lone player in a scavenger hunt, searching for simple pleasures. I will find those pleasures not in exotic places but in my own kingdom - my yard, my home and my immediate surrounding. I will find special rewards in flowers pushing up from the ground, in buds sprouting on trees.

Just for today I will focus on things that bring me pleasure. I will not see walls that have to be painted or chores that have to be done. Instead, I will see with renewed eyes the pleasures of many years of marriage.

Just for today I will do simple things that please me instead of feeling guilty about wasting time. I will sleep longer if I want, linger over the newspaper and sip my favorite flavored coffee.

Just for today I will forget about the word diet. I will eat only what is good instead of what is good for me.

Just for today I will fill my mind with nothing but positive thoughts. I will think of each treasured friend, each wonderful person who brings joy to my world. I will take time to thank God for each and every one of them.

Just for today I won’t let anyone’s thoughtless words rob me of my tranquillity. I will remember I can’t control unthinking people, but I can control my reaction to them.

Just for today I will surround myself with positive thoughts and positive people. Just for today I will counter any negative comment anyone makes with a positive response.

Just for today I will smile. I will smile at people. I will smile at strangers. I will smile at life.

Just for today, l will say something nice to someone. I will notice a special skill or effort and compliment a loved one or a stranger. The clerk or wait staff that does a great job, the choir director that brings first rate music to us, the person that stops to help someone that could use assistance. Let them know you noticed.

Just for today I will know I have been entrusted with something special. I have been given the gift of life.

Just for today I will cherish that gift and embrace all the many wonders of each day.

Just for today I will make “thank you” my song of praise.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.