Now Is The Time

A package arrived in the mail from my cousin Chuck containing four red t-shirts which he had screen-printed with these words in bold white lettering: "Now Is The Time."

The package was addressed to "Philly Phans," and I knew from a previous conversation that Chuck had the Phightin' Phils on his mind when he made them. Yes, it's a big year for our boys of summer. Citizen's Bank Park is opening this spring, and the team is fired up and fine tuned. You can view a countdown to the first pitch of the season at the Official Phils Site.

So Chuck's t-shirt slogan is a statement of the hope that dwells in the oft-bruised hearts of us Phillies Phans. But there's nothing on the shirt to say it's specifically a Phillies thang - even though the shirts are printed in the team colors of red and white. I've spent a lot of time today musing on the deeper truth of Chuck's screen-printed message: Now Is The Time.

As it turns out, I spoke to my sister Andrea last night. My little sister, who is just a few months shy of her fortieth birthday, lives in Santa Fe, and has devoted much of her energies during the past years to fine-tuning her spirit, pursuing her own unique path to creative fulfillment and enlightenment. More power to Little Sis, say I! Andrea mentioned her interest in a book by Eckhart Tolle called The Power of Now, and I looked up the author's website. ET knows that "now is the time," and yours truly, intermittent procrastinator, dreamer of dreams and fabricator of denials, decided to take the convergence of these two messages as a wake-up call.

What time is it? Now Is The Time. Stay tuned.