The 125th celebration of the National League for Nursing in Chicago was a good metaphor for life. The conference opened with a beautiful tribute to the past nursing pathfinders that had significantly improved the health and welfare of the nation.It celebrated all the hurdles that had been overcome but it also clearly said it is not time to rest on laurels. Nursing can and will help shape the path to better health care in the future The past in every life has some ups and downs but it is the present where life really happens. Today is the only day that we can have influence over our lives and there are times when we need to let go of the past.Carrying a red wagon of hurts,failures and regrets can immobile the human spirit.It is in the NOW that life happens and even if it is inch by inch we can more fully live out our dreams.