Happy New Year

Bathing is good. Higher power is good. Thanking God for His blessings... Good. I'm just not sure if we have a better quality of life than the 'good old' days...

A quick contemporary history lesson for me...

I lived on a 9 acre piece of land. Very nice house, on the salt water here in Charleston SC. Had a fresh water pond and salt water to fish in, and plenty of wildlife to hunt. My wife suggest that we move closer to our 2 daughters and their families. I thought "yeah" that's great. So we move closer to them.

I love the new house, its closer to my daughters.
I hate the new house, its closer to my daughters.

You just don't know until you live in the shoes that you haven't worn.

I'd like the cowboy days... But who knows...

Happy New year...
Pappy

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Pappy

Bathing is good. Higher power is good. Thanking God for His blessings... Good. I'm just not sure if we have a better quality of life than the 'good old' days...

A quick contemporary history lesson for me...

I lived on a 9 acre piece of land. Very nice house, on the salt water here in Charleston SC. Had a fresh water pond and salt water to fish in, and plenty of wildlife to hunt. My wife suggest that we move closer to our 2 daughters and their families. I thought "yeah" that's great. So we move closer to them.

I love the new house, its closer to my daughters.
I hate the new house, its closer to my daughters.

You just don't know until you live in the shoes that you haven't worn.

I'd like the cowboy days... But who knows...

Hi Pappy,

Well, you're right... Some things can be better! Especially some things regarding nature...

I love beaches - there's something about the surf I really love, the sound of it, and the salty ocean air. However, every year, beaches get more and more crowded... I'm not there for the people, but for the ocean itself!

However, when I think about it, these things (and other problems I have) are really quite "small" problems if you look at it on a "world scale". How many people in the world have terrible problems, who would "dream" of having my problems?

Several years ago, I was driving and switching stations on the radio. I heard a radio news program about a young girl in South Africa. Her mother had died of AIDS. Also, the other children shunned her, because - although she didn't have AIDS herself - the fact her mother had died of AIDS made her an "outcast" among the other children. She was both an orphan and an outcast.

(I just looked it up - apparently around 12% of the population of South Africa has AIDS, believe it or not.)

I hope and pray that she will get over these terrible problems, and may God give her a good life. These problems were not of her own creation. But then, I think about situations like that, and realize that my own problems are extremely tiny in comparison, and I'm grateful for the many blessings I do have in my life.

(Sorry, I realized I changed the topic! Your point still stands, of course, that not everything is better now compared to the past...)

Best wishes!

Dien

1 - Ditch the negative people in your life. I don't give a toss who they are (brother, sister, so-called friend). if they are crabs dragging you back down into the bucket you're trying to climb out of, ditch 'em. And I mean, Fully. Don't even entertain their whiny phone calls trying to lay guilt trips on you for ditching them. Remove them from your life. Now you are free of that crud.

2 - Turn off the news. Yep, that's right, goodbye CNN and Fox. What you broadcast has been selected by someone for me to hear/see so that person must want me to think in a certain way. I ain't buying. Sell it somewhere else. What you have isn't that important to my life anyway. And if it is, *I* cannot do anything about it so knowing won't make a lick of difference. So, be gone with you.

3 - Accept that people are nongs. Once accepted it will be hard for you to Feel The Outrage at the usual suspects.

4 - Go with it. You can move around within the flow, but fighting does nothing but tire you out.

5 - Tell your wife you love her and show affection without it Needing to end in sex. Happy wife, happy life.

6 - Take time out from your life - work, friends, family. Get some alone time, some solitude, some mental peace and quiet.

7 - Do not try to control other people. Let them be who they think they want to be, doing the things they want to do. You don't own them, they are not your slave. Leave them alone. Suddenly you won't be fighting against a person struggling to not be controlled.

8 - Do goofy stuff. Do kids things. yeah yeah, we put away are childish ways. Bull**** to that, I say. WHY stop enjoying kicking a hackey sack or tossing a frisbee or doing a stupid dance in your home when noone/everyone is looking. Goofy is good.

9 - Ditch caffeine. OMG you say. Well, it's a dehydrating stimulant. You don't NEED it. Ditch it. Deal with the headaches for a couple days then enjoy a life free of it. Same with smokes and other Drugs. Live in your rational mind free of stimulants and numbing agents.

10 - Understand at your core level that, there is always a way (to do what you want to do, achieve what you want to achieve, etc). You might not know it right at that moment, but it is there waiting for you to discover. Thus, you become open to possibilities.

Michael

Thanks for that one Michael- all great advice

[Dien Rice]

Hi Michael,

All great advice!

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

8 - Do goofy stuff. Do kids things. yeah yeah, we put away are childish ways. Bull**** to that, I say. WHY stop enjoying kicking a hackey sack or tossing a frisbee or doing a stupid dance in your home when noone/everyone is looking. Goofy is good.

I totally agree with you here...

Sometimes it can be very "freeing" to do something silly!

Somehow in my 20s, I got to being very serious... But then, one day, with a group of friends - we slid down a slide!

We didn't care what others in the park thought - adults sliding down a slide. But, it was great!

(If you do this, though, make sure it's a solid, metal slide, and not one of those flimsy plastic ones! )

As adults, we sometimes get too "caught up" in the seriousness of life, and don't take enough time out to actually have fun doing "physical" things!

10 - Understand at your core level that, there is always a way (to do what you want to do, achieve what you want to achieve, etc). You might not know it right at that moment, but it is there waiting for you to discover. Thus, you become open to possibilities.

I believe that is true...

Life is a journey of discovery. At least, that's what it's meant to be (in my opinion).

Thanks - great stuff, Michael!

Best wishes!

Dien

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

7 - Do not try to control other people. Let them be who they think they want to be, doing the things they want to do. You don't own them, they are not your slave. Leave them alone. Suddenly you won't be fighting against a person struggling to not be controlled.

Treat others...

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

1 - Ditch the negative people in your life. I don't give a toss who they are (brother, sister, so-called friend). if they are crabs dragging you back down into the bucket you're trying to climb out of, ditch 'em. And I mean, Fully. Don't even entertain their whiny phone calls trying to lay guilt trips on you for ditching them. Remove them from your life. Now you are free of that crud.

As you would have them treat you...

Make the above changes in your life, and set yourself free of all that negative BS.

So many people will consult with a friend, wife, husband, co-worker, cousin, when they are a tiny bit unsure of a path. Invariably they will be shown why their plan won't work.

When you have an idea, or a plan for something new, just do it. If you ask advice / permission, you're doomed at the beginning.

Originally Posted by Bozo

So many people will consult with a friend, wife, husband, co-worker, cousin, when they are a tiny bit unsure of a path. Invariably they will be shown why their plan won't work.

When you have an idea, or a plan for something new, just do it. If you ask advice / permission, you're doomed at the beginning.

I agree and disagree concurrently.

A lot of "good judgement learned from bad judgement" can be avoided by ASKing question. However, I feel they need to be the right questions to Ask and for the Right Person to be Asked.

The BFF is not the right person to ask of anything. Most relatives are also not the right people to ask. Nor other family members. Nor co-workers. They have done less research then you (usually) so it's a waste of time asking them.

The right person to ask is someone who has the experience on the topic at hand. The right question is not "can I" "Should I" or "what do you think" - although a "what do you think" question can be used on occasion.

You can ask WHAT your options are - not which option to take, but which options are available to you. You can ask How something can be done - not whether it should be done.

Michael