Peace One Day 2014

Peace One Day

I just realized that today is  designated as "Peace One Day 2014".   How wonderful it would be if for just one day - today - we could have total peace in the world?!!!!
Here are the words I heard sung over the internet.  What a wonderful idea!!!!!
I just could not resist adding this post today.

If I could write a magic song
That everyone could sing
I'd write of love and hope and joy
And things that peace could bring
And when we sang that magic song
All hate and war would cease
One song could bring a miracle
And fill the world with peace!
One song for all of us.

A Precious Gift

OUT  OF STOCK

I went to a drugstore with a special request today but they told me they could not fill my order. They advertise that they carry everything so that is false advertising, is it not??? I only asked for one single dose of "youth" and they turned me down.  I was extremely disappointed.

 As a Ukrainian kid growing up, I used to listen to a very melodic and beautiful Ukrainian song about a woman that was  going to go on a trip in search of her youthful healthy years.  I can still hear the melody but do not recall all the words. It was sung by a woman who was going to ask  her youthful years to at least "visit her for awhile as a guest"  The next verse is the reply  from her youthful years who tell her they can never come back because she had not cherished either her youth or her good health when she had them, therefore there was "nothing" to come back to now.

Sometimes it seems to me that song is relevant to some of today's youth who waste their youthful good  health on drugs , alcohol, smokes and and other destructive lifestyles.  Too late, they find that there is no turning back after the damage is done.  Just simple ageing is enough of a downgrade for any "body". And that is even without any prior abuse or addition of destructive practices.

Cherish your youth and your health! They are precious! Just ask any senior.

Food For Thought

1   Notable Quotations

I     I copied this from the Ethelbert Echo, a small town newspaper from my old home town in Manitoba. I thought these were neat gems of wisdom and I wanted to share them with you. 

1.   Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
2.  Always keep your words soft and sweet, in case you might have to eat them.
3.  Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4.  Drive carefully.  It is not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
5.  If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
6.  If you lend somebody $20  and you never see them again, it was probably worth it.
7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
8. Never put both feet in your mouth because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
9. When everyone is coming against you, you’re probably in the wrong lane.
10. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
11. The really happy person is one enjoys the scenery on a detour.
12. We can learn alot from crayons.  Some are sharp, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all live in the same box.

Compensating

Compensating for Shortfalls

What is it about night time that seems to fuel the creative juices of the mind???  I hear people say "I'm a morning person. I do my most important work in the mornings!"

I just envy people who can "schedule" their productivity that well.  I must be a very disorganized person! My mind works on whim - never predictably (except in its unpredictability). I do have an overriding writing  goal and I am somewhat monomaniacal about it, but my "success???" toward that endeavor comes in time increments that are  unbidden, unbridled, unscheduled and sometimes even most inopportune!

That is why I can be at my computer at four o'clock in the morning just as easily as at four in the afternoon. All too often, sleep seems like a waste of time - particularly when the brain is still spinning and flinging ideas out in all directions. If I don't net them immediately, they fly out into the great beyond and are forever lost.

To overcome that problem, I used to keep a pen and a writing tablet on my bedstand, right under the lamp, to record fleeting ideas that merited preservation. Now, I have a voice-activated little tape recorder beside my pillow.  (You do what you have to do to compensate for shortfalls!) They say that when one part of you fails to work, other parts have to step in and fill the void.

Sleep time is negotiable, particularly when you are retired,  but even retirees need to recognize its value!

Today's Dream Today's Action

Dreams to Live By

Many years ago I belonged to Toastmasters.  I joined them with the express purpose of overcoming crippling insecurities. My timidity in front of crowds or strangers was turning ordinary situations into major struggles for me. I knew I needed to overcome that handicap in order to function in regular society.  So I joined Toastmasters  to  try to conquer my irrational fear.

In Toastmasters, we had to write and deliver speeches in front of other members. We had to be take our turn at conducting meetings.  We had to stand up and speak intelligently on any given subject for at least two minutes (without any preparation).  In other words, we had to learn to think on our feet.  It was good - but brutal training for someone with a monumental inferiority complex! I panicked, I stammered, I flubbed,  – badly! I literally wanted to turn and run and just forget about everything. 

But I hate unfinished business - and I hate quitting even more.  So good, bad or otherwise, I determined to complete that course. I did a few contortionist moves, kicked myself in my you-know-what, and did what I thought was impossible.  I completed the course - even made it to the Regional finals with my “Humorous Speech”.  Nothing spectacular, but for me, it was a major conquest!

When I retired, I found myself  stagnating intellectually.  I had no stimulation for my brain and at times I felt almost apprehensive about my mental state.  I'd forget something - or someone's name - and fret about deteriorating mental capacities.  I worried that old age was coming around more quickly than I wanted.  I still had a lot of unfinished business to complete.  I could not afford to get old, senile or ill. 

We all have dreams, hopes, aspirations, passions, pet hobbies, . Me – I like to write – poems, stories, a real novel – perhaps.  Someday – perhaps. 

I now have four books on line.  God willing, there will be more.

So here is the lesson that I want to impart to you – Don’t just flirt with “someday”.         Dream it???  Then DO it!     NOW!!!

Life Lessons

I just finished  reading - actually LISTENING (due to poor vision, I only do audio books), to Debbie Macomber's  book "God's Guest List" and  I just  realized how my last post " I'm a Wannabe" must look and sound. I am afraid that, in that post, I must sound extremely self-centered and egotistical.  I give no credit to the many "enablers" that have helped me to get to where I now am.  I did not get there under just only my own steam, though I must admit  to a somewhat monomaniacal personality.  My excuse for that is: now that I am retired, I can afford monomania.

 But getting back to to the subject I was talking about.  I realize that to some readers the very title of that book would be a turn-off!  Many people just cringe at the thought of being preached to. They do not wish to hear  bible passages or religious sermons and the like. But  the title  "God's Guest List" in this case is rather misleading.  Although the author does quote bible passages and she does relate the passages to her subject, this book is really not a "religious" book as per say.  The whole book is simply a philosophical approach to life in general.  Yes, it fits a religious theme, but that same approach can fit into an atheist's lifestyle or the lifestyle of any other religion (though I have to confess to ignorance of specifics of  religions other than Christianity).  Still, I am confident that other religions all share the same basic concept of "decency and common sense". What this book promotes is not "Christian religion"!  It advocates a common sense philosophy of life: "Strive to do your best and take advantage of each and every opportunity that presents itself along your path. Cash in on the lessons of your mistakes and the difficulties that you encounter along the way toward the achievement of your goals.

A couple of years ago, I blogged a short poem here entitled "The Value of a Mistake" (October 27, 2011), and that theme fits in with the suggestions that this book advocates.  Religion or philosophy, this book makes total sense for just plain LIVING and getting the most out of  life!