Lessons in Life...

Today, I was cleaning out my folders in my computer.  I found this under "Advice".

These lessons in life were written by Regina Brett, at the age of 50 years old.  She is a columnist at The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, Ohio. She turns 54 years old this year in August, although her 45 Lessons in Life floods the Internet, reporting she is 90 years old.  She has been a single parent, a breast cancer survivor, and a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2009 and 2008.  Her column on these life lessons is her most popular column.

Regina said, "It turns out those personal life lessons were universal truths. They came from being a single parent and a cancer survivor, from all the wrong roads taken looking for my mission in life, from the broken road that led me straight to my husband, from strangers I interviewed, from priests I met on retreats, from my family and closest friends."

       

A quote from her book, GOD NEVER BLINKS, she wrote:  “It took me 40 years to find and hold onto happiness. I always felt that at the moment I was born, God must have blinked. He missed the occasion and never knew I had arrived. My parents had 11 children. While I love them and my five brothers and five sisters deeply, some days I felt lost in the litter... I seemed to be the runt of that litter. I ended up confused by the nuns at 6, a lost soul who drank too much at 16, an unwed mother at 21, a college graduate at 30, a single mother for 18 years, and finally, a wife at 40, married to a man who treated me like a queen."

Regina wrote the first 45 lessons after being grateful living to age 45.  At 50, she wrote five more.

Here is her list:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry: God never blinks.


16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

For more on Regina Brett, see her web site here

How To Stay Young...

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this
epitaph: Tried everything twice...loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
(Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,
whatever. Never let the brain get 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. And if you
have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with
HIM/HER.

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 the mall, or a trip to the
next county or a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

11. Forgive those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

Remember, lost time can never be found.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of
battle.


***** Attributed to comedian George Carlin, but according to Snopes.com was written by an unknown author.*****

An Inspiring Conversation With a Published Author...

This past weekend, we attended family events at two,  out of my husbands five sons, homes. The party on Saturday, has become an annual summer party, actually, a reunion of sorts, with many of his sons friends from their old neighborhood in Thousand Oaks, California. They all went to high school together. One of their friends is the author, Kyle Fitsharris, who wrote THE EIGHTH PLAGUE. He has the sequel coming out soon, entitled, THE NEW AMERICANS. He has even been approached to do movies on both of them.

He seems like a very nice man and is raising his young daughter, who lives with him. It was not the first time I had met him, but the first time we had the time to talk at length. We had a very interesting conversation. I told him how incredibly satisfying it must be, to get a book published. He agreed and told me what a huge difference Royalties make in one's life...he wouldn't know what to do if he had to get a "regular" job again... If you would like to check him out, here is his website: http://web.me.com/rtrsblc/SITE/HOME.html.

I told him I am contemplating writing a book on my Dad.  He advised me to do an outline first.  I told Kyle about my Dad having Alzheimer's and my other blog, Mystical Journeys about our family's experience with Dad's journey. He told me how popular journal type books are now.  He offered to take a look at it, so I gave him the address...

I was able to read the introduction to his book, from the copy my husband's son's wife was lending to one of their friends.  It grabbed me.  I got Kyle's address and ordered my autographed copy today.  I am very anxious for it to arrive and begin reading.

Interesting how life/God/the Universe presents opportunities in our lives.  I hope this is one of those life experiences, where years ahead, I can look back upon and see it as a stepping stone of motivation to getting my book published...

Wisdom from the aged...

This was written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, Ohio.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else .

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, 'In five years will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone for everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come....

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."