This reflection by travel writer Charles Macomb Flandrau (1871–1938) arrives with quiet power and enduring love.

Life is now.

If you are forty years old, you have already lived 14,965 days. You cannot get them back. You only have today. This moment. To live fully. To make a difference. To celebrate life. Every minute counts, right here, right now. Every passionate color.

It is never too late to celebrate. At forty, Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. John Glenn orbited the earth. Lucille Ball debuted on I Love Lucy. Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run.

Life is now, waiting for you. What are you going to do about it?