I am intrigued by the definition of “day” by Merriam-Webster: “the time of light between one night and the next.” It’s simplicity speaks expansively; chronology, cosmology, philosophy, even theology—percolate its significance. Give that a minute. Consider this; chronologically, a day lasts 86,400 seconds—but who’s counting!?
“Day” is an often used, hardly noticed—-word; A Day in the life of… a day’s journey….a day of work…a bad day,…a good day….a new day dawning…on this day in history…. on it goes. A pop song by Diana Washington, speaks volumes:
What a difference a day makes
24 little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain
This morning over breakfast a friend and I discussed his children and my grands. Our time together brought out mock astonishment from both of us; how they have grown up so fast—one day they’re little—the next day an empty nest, so to speak. A day dealing with diapers, the next they’re gone. Hyperbolic, yes! But you have heard the common conversation comment, “Where did those days go!?” Difficult days do not seem to go quickly, and days of sheer pleasure seem to evaporate as mist before the rising sun.
We tend to have odd views of a day. Someone may say, “Well, back in the day….” —meaning years, or generations, or eons ago. But saying “On the day of 01/10 Umpteen, such and such happened nails down a precise happening. Or take the old Southern comment, “Y’all come to see us!” Which is a vacant invitation; whereas saying “Please come have dinner with us at 1234 Real Street on Juvember 9, at 5:00 p.m” —That is a day with a specific invitation.
On a more important scale, what does a day mean to you? Only you can decide its significance. At the risk of being morbid, the stark reality is that no one knows how many days are left in her/his life, yet knowing the death rate is 100%—-alone places high alert for claiming the moment. Carpe diem is Latin for “live in the moment” (RWV Revised Willis Version). Of course it is virtually impossible to make every moment of life the pinnacle of existence. But it is possible to think of a Day as metaphor of life; there is darkness and there is light. Darkness is overcome by light.
One of the creation stories the Bible exults about light; The light still shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out. Also, the most exciting day for Christians is introduced as “…the dawn of the first day of the week…” From the bedrocks of despair, this little band of Jesus’ friends soared to the supreme heights of hope—that Day.
Gloom doesn’t always explode into ecstasy, but despair never has the last word. It is fairly common for someone saying ‘goodbye’ to say, “Have a Good Day!” As Diana Washington sang, “What a difference a day makes!” —segueing Psalm 118:24 into our vernacular:This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
©)Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022
Willis, I enjoyed your reflection on the many meanings of “day”. Keep it up! Hope you are doing well.