Iloveparee

 Brooke Shields broke her leg on a balance board.  She is in the hospital with a bad break. She says:  "No matter what your challenge is, make a positive choice, for yourself, to move forward."   GREAT ADVICE for life.  Get well soon, Brooke.

George Carlin , 2002, On Aging HOW TO STAY YOUNG 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them.’ 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s. 4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to t...

The Violet The forest awaits my visit As it always does. The path envelopes my quiet steps When I wander deep within. I wasn't looking for it But so happily surprised Deep in the nettles and thistles Grew a solitary violet. The little bud looked so full Of future promises. Happy to share its life With the lonely hiker. Would finding this treasure Portend some romantic adventure Or the joy known only to me In a needy moment.

I discovered the "meaning of life" quite by accident. I did not spend years pondering it.  The answer just came to me in a flash of insight.  I had the thought enter my consciousness that "life is a process".  By that I mean life is a series of cultural rituals like going to school, work, holidays, sickness, surprises, births, deaths, marriage, divorce. etc.  The meaing is in the act of doing (it is a process).  One could say, "the fun is in the doing, good or bad, happy or sad."  It comes from your very own viewpoint.

THE THING about NOT waiting is this: It doesn’t require that we begin doing everything at once, trying to make up for lost years. We just have to stop waiting. I looked up the opposite of waiting. Here’s what I found: advancing, beginning, doing, forging, forwarding, going, moving, carrying on, going ahead, taking off. Words that denote action, movement, doing something. Notice it doesn’t involve what the size of the action is. It merely shows that waiting has been replaced with doing.   IS IT TOO LATE FOR ME???? 😞 Still true today!!

This post is from the movie "Midnight in Paris", naturally one of my favorites.  The actor playing Hemingway says to Gil', "Vicente lost his hand from a grenade and he was young and brave and the hill was soggy from days of rain and it slopped down toward a road and there were many German soldiers on the road and the idea was to aim for the first group and if our aim was true, we could delay them.  Are you afraid of dying Gil (yes, my greatest fear).  Well, it's something all men before you have done and all men will do."  Homage from Woody Allen 

"Other intrinsic things have lasted over the years as well. Love, honor, loyalty, friendship, good manners, good times. They're sometimes harder to come by but more treasured once they're found."