I  would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to  myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am  entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. 

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
 
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.
 
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is  pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.


 I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.  

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I  like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).  
 
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN  IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER! FRIENDS FOREVER!

Success

Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;

to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;  to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or redeemed social condition;

to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succceeded.

When was the last time you just sat and did absolutely NOTHING????  !!!!  Scary thought, perhaps, for some people, but by doing nothing, LOT's of things actually do happen....... For instance:

• your heart rate will probably slow down
• your blood pressure will probably reduce
• your breathing will certainly slow down and be more steady and regular
• and....... if you do it for long enough, your busy mind chatter will probably quiet down as well

Doing nothing is not about sitting cross - legged and meditating for hours on end!!!  Simply sitting for a few minutes and not moving, not looking at anything and not listening to anything in particular - they all can make a huge difference on your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

So I DARE you to sit somewhere for AT LEAST 3 minutes (try 5 if you are feeling brave!!!)  EVERY DAY and see what happens.  It could be the first time in a LONG time that you have done it, and a word of caution......  If you say to yourself that you haven't got time to sit for a few minutes.......then that might just be a sign that says you NEED to sit quietly for a while to rest up and recharge!!!

And if you need some help sitting still, then take a look at the CD "Calm your Mind" and listen to the free track.

It seems that more and more people are choosing silence as a way of dealing with the turbulent times we are living in.  Sara Maitlant - an author and journalist - writes of her experiences of silent living in an inspirational book called "A Book of Silence"  (published by Grant 2008 www.granta.com)

Also check the Diary section on the site for details of a radio programme talking about silence - March 7th

A man was sitting in his small cabin by the beach writing, and he noticed a person in the distance apparently 'dancing' on the sand, going from the shore to the beach and back several times.  He watched for a few days wondering what was happening, and then his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to go and find out. 

As he approached the dancing figure, he saw hundreds of starfish which had been washed up on the beach by the tide.  He then saw the dancing figure picking up a starfish, going to the shore and puting the starfish back in the sea. And this happened many times as the man got nearer.

When they eventually talked, the man said that it would be impossible to clear the beach of all of the starfish - there were just so many.  The 'dancer' made no reply, but simply picked up another starfish and put it back in the sea and then came back and said:"well, made a difference to that one!"

How often do we think that we can't make a big difference in the world, but by doing something small, often, it has the potential to make a big difference to something or someone.  It could be simply ringing up a friend and saying how much you appreciate their friendship, smiling at someone, helping someone...... it doesn't have to be BIG but done with with a good heart.

The original story I heard on a video called The Power of Vision narrated by Joel Barker.  An interesting and inspirational chap  www.joelbarker.com

Was listening to an interesting radio interview with a guy who was talking about the way the brain works, our thoughts and how they affect our moods.  I was struck by a question he was raising about smiling:

Are you happy when you smile or do you smile when you are happy?

He was saying that the act of smiling can make you feel happy, which in my own experience I can recognise - I suppose if you are genuinely smiling it is difficult NOT to feel okay or even great!!!

D.S.D      Do Something Different

Simply effective for switching your thoughts OFF and making you feel better

Sometimes our thoughts can run away with themselves and get the better of us, for all kinds of reasons: because of obsessions, something upsetting us, rehearsing 'to do ' lists in our head, and so it goes on, and the more you try to stop those thoughts the 'louder and more persistent they seem to get'. Sound familiar?

ONE thing to do which might just help - don't think about your thoughts but just DO something different.!!

Have you ever been annoyed with something or someone, and took yourself off and cleaned the cooker or the kitchen floor or did something physical to take your mind off things? Quite simply, you Did Something Different which probably made a difference to how you were felling. So DSD can work if you let it.

WARNING:    Whenever you do something different, give it your absolute attention and energy -  with a smile on your face, and it will definitely influence how you are thinking and feeling by the time you finish.

No money needed, just use your time and energy in a different way.

So next time your 'mind has a mind of its own'..... make a commitment to DSD, and it will have a double benefit.  It will take your mind off those bothersome thoughts, AND you will end up getting something worthwhile done.  And finally, it might just make you feel good as well. 

So here goes... some other DSD activities:

• Clean - the car, the cooker, the kitchen floor, the garage, the loft, the whole house
• Walk the dog - if you haven't got one go and borrow one
• Spend some time with your children -if you haven't got any, go ask your best friends if you can take their kids off their hands for a little while - they will love you forever
• Go to an art gallery, cinema, theatre
• Cook something without a recipe book and with ingredients you have in the fridge, freezer, cupboard
• Take a power walk around the block and notice every step you make on the ground
• Play a musical instrument and make a noise - no need to make music
• Sing your favourite songs
• Sing your favourite songs to a cd while you hoover
• Mow the lawn
• Paint a wall
• Do a puzzle, jig saw, soduko, knit, sew, count the panes of glass in the house / apartment next door
• Look through your photo album
• Put all of the photos from all of your holidays in to a photo album
• Sing and dance while you do any of the above things