With all that is happening in the world—mass shootings, food insecurity, global warming, mega snow storms, hurricanes, fires, political unrest, wars, violence, bullying, hate crimes, and the list goes on and on—how do we stay centered? How do we take care of our bodies, minds, spirits, and emotions? How do we stay in peace, harmony, and love?

One day at a time, that’s how. And, if we were to be honest with ourselves, sometimes, it’s one minute at a time.

Day by day we wake up and have a choice. Day by day we can choose to watch massive amounts of TV or not. Day by day we can choose what we eat, who we want to hang around with, what we speak, and how we act. Day by day we can choose to be the change we want to see in the world or not.

Are we perfect? No. Do we slip back into old habits? Yes. Are we still human? Of course.

We are only responsible for ourselves day by day and moment by moment. No one else is to blame.

If your life isn’t going the way you want, if you’re unhappy about your boss, relationship, job, career, friends—go talk to them! If that isn’t possible, find another way to change the situation. You need to get rid of your negative energy. One way to do this may entail talking with a professional. And, as a last resort, you may need to walk away from the situation altogether.

You do not have control over what’s going on outside of you; however, you do have control over how you process information and react to it. You can come from fear, hate, anger, guilt, rage, revenge, or you can respond in love, peace, harmony, compassion, respect, and kindness.

One day at a time we walk on earth doing the best we can with the circumstances we are given. We can’t change our pasts or control tomorrow. What we do today, how we think, and who we are right here and right now is the important thing. And how we change our thoughts, words, and actions in this moment will create who we are tomorrow.

Today, I challenge you to be in gratitude for what you have, to feel blessed about everything and everyone around you, and to take care of your Self and each other. I challenge you to think about if this were your last day on the planet, what would you say? How would you act? What changes would you make? You only have this one day, so, you might as well create it the way you want. In this way, you will change the way you see and change the way you live.