When I was around five or six years old I remember watching a musical called Annie. It was about an 11yr old orphan trying to find her biological parents. The time period she was living in was during the Great Depression. That alone is probably enough for anyone to deal with let alone an 11yr old.

Then throw in Mrs.Hannigan who was the cruel, drunk manager of the orphanage an I believed at that time the daughter of Satan. The musical was set in 1922 so organizations such as “Dyfs” weren’t around to stop this miserable human being from making kid’s work nonstop. Despite red-heads getting a bad rap (nowadays) Annie was a great kid who tried her best to make the situation for all the orphans a little better by being positive. The other girls looked to her for strength, and Annie provided it.

Eventually with the help of her friends Annie escaped, and during this time she sang a song that is still remembered today by mostly anyone that was alive when the musical came out. The song was called “Tomorrow”.  At this point in the musical Annie just met a stray dog who was also alone and sang this song to it. The song in a nutshell basically is about better days to come. Below are some of the lyrics to the song:

The sun’ll come out tomorrow/Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun Just thinkin’ about tomorrow/Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow till there’s none When I’m stuck with a day that’s gray and lonely/I just stick out my chin and grin and say The sun’ll come out tomorrow/So you got to hang on till tomorrow, came what may! Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow/you’re always a day away.

In my opinion the simplicity of the song is what makes it so powerful. I can’t read the words without singing it in my head. No matter what Annie was going through, in her mind she knew that the next day would be better despite most of these days being at the orphanage. How often do we tell ourselves during tough times that tomorrow will be better? Do we tell ourselves this at all? We are so hyper focused on today that we sometimes forget about tomorrow.

Life is unexpected for sure, but there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead, especially when we’re having a tough time. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed for any of us, but if we lived that way why would we set goals? Why would we dream? Today wouldn’t matter if we lived like there was no tomorrow. If Annie only thought there would be a today the musical would of definitely took a different turn. She would have been miserable. The songs wouldn’t have been about keeping her chin up and smiling at adversity. They would have been about hating life and how unfair it is. Annie’s song would have read like a long face book status.

I think we should live in the moment. You want to enjoy every second that you have, but when the moment isn’t good it’s also ok to look forward to the next day. Not everyone can shut out the bad immediately and move on from it. It’s a work in progress for most, but you can shift your energy to making tomorrow better than today.

The reason you appreciate every day you wake up is because you have another opportunity. You have a chance to make that horrible day at work, or that bad argument with your spouse better. This is why you don’t take days for granted. I tell my friends all the time don’t let a bad day become a bad week, because the next thing you know it you’re having a bad month and so on and so on. Make the most of today and if you’re going through a tough time there’s always tomorrow.