Only Today Does the Fire Burn Brightly

Yesterday is ashes, tomorrow is wood.
Only today does the fire burn brightly.
-Old Inuit Proverb

My copy of Widdershins arrived today. Widdershins, by Charles de Lint, is the sequel to The Onion Girl, which I read recently and loved. This quote was on the inside, next to the table of contents, and when I read it I felt my eyes fill with tears. I’m not quite sure why. I think there’s just something about living in the moment, remembering that today is the only reality that we have, that makes me feel nostalgic. It seems like that’s the opposite of the reaction I should have, I should want to seize the day, but instead I get a sense of how precious this very moment is, and a strange sadness that we never truly get to experience anything twice.