Abe Lincoln Meets Rainer Maria Rilke

Wendell Frink

Mr. H Salsich

9 English

15 September 2008

Abe Lincoln Meets Rainer Maria Rilke

An essay on the relationship of a quote and a poem

We all know that Abraham Lincoln was our 16th president of the United States, and surprisingly one of his quotes “The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time,” relates to an excerpt from a poem written by Rainer Maria Rilke titled Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke was a poet from the late 20th century. The Lincoln quote is written in a totally different style than Rilke, but they both relate to each other is some way. They are both about success and living in the present and not in the past or in the future. The future (according to these great writers) should only be thought about until the day comes, so live in the present.

Upon studying this quote, I noticed three distinctive meanings. One of the meanings this quote has is to only think about the present and not about the past or future. You should take your time for you have all the time in the world, if you take your time it will be well spent for in this modern world we are all rushing around trying to accomplish things. And don’t try to rush things in your life because people who rush usually aren’t the happiest of people. When growing up everyone wonders what the future will entail, but this is surely a mistake. If you worry about the future, then life will be hard and tiresome not smooth and relaxing. It might even make you stressful because you might think about the future holding bad things instead of good. The last meaning is to not think about the past. We should never worry about what has happened in the past only what is happening now. If we do worry about the past then, this could be a problem. These few words in the quote provide a mountain of information and interpretation.

When reading Lincoln’s quote and Rilke’s excerpt, I came across one similar meaning: to live in the present. Both poets talk about the future but in each a different way. Rilke says that the future comes “gradually” and “without [you] even noticing.” Lincoln says the future “comes only one day at a time” so you should use the day that you have wisely. You should “live everything,” every conversation, every event, and most of all your life the way you want it. Everyday is a new day that needs to be lived. Even “live your questions now” and not in the future because if you need an answer now, you won’t get it if you wait. When looking for the answer to something, don’t search for it, let it come to you. If you don’t it could make you live in more than only one day at a time and could make you forlorn. Everyday think about what you say, and what you do, for one of these times you will “live your way into the answer.”

As life goes on we should always remember to not think about the future, only the present. For a moment, pretend it is your last day on earth; do you wish that you had more time to do things or are you unhappy with not taking your time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it is truly worth not thinking about the past. Begin now to embrace the present and live your life to the fullest.