Ruth and I have made some wonderful new friends in Florida. The girls do girl things, the guys do guy things, and we all do things together. Last year, the girls assembled several pictures. The assembly involved building frames (one guy helped) and painting motivational quotations on a canvas. The girls hung some up, gave some away to family and friends, and recycled their painting failures.
We have two copies of my favorite. One is in our dining area and one hangs in our garage. (We’ve got a nice one.) I see it several times each day and enjoy reading it each time. It’s simple, yet profound. Today seems like a perfect day to share it.
We’re starting a new decade today. I expect the 20s will be exciting. By the time the 30s arrive I’ll be in my 80s, David, Elizabeth and Michael in their 50s, Brady and Eva in their 20s and my friend, Ed, will be 112.
On Ed’s 101st birthday, I shared what I expected would be his advice for living a full and happy life. Later, I learned that he concurred. I’ve updated the list for today’s blog. I believe it can serve as a guide for each page of our future chapters.
1. Love. Share your time on earth. You don’t have to marry, but have someone to share your time, encourage your goals, listen to your thoughts, and set you straight when you veer off path.
2. Take care of yourself. Value your health. Avoid excess.
3. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Be religious if that’s a path you choose, but in any case, make sure that you know that there is something more important than each of us, alone.
4. Work. Be engaged in something that helps you find purpose. If your first choice doesn’t work out, find another. Each of us needs to have a reason to get up each morning. Make sure that you have something to look forward to doing each day.
5. Hang with people younger than you at least some of the time. Share your experience. Don’t be afraid to share your failures as well as your triumphs.
6. Laugh. Belly laughs are preferred.
7. Belong. Be an active part of a community. It may be church, your neighbors, people at work, your school, a team, a club or your family. Each of us needs to engage with others that share a common bond.
8. Play. Take time to have fun and share your experience with others. Don’t get so involved in work that you don’t take time to play.
9. Sing and dance even if you only sing in the shower and tap your foot to music while sitting in a chair. It’s good for the soul.
10. Don’t keep score. If someone does you wrong, move on. Be the bigger man. You’ll waste a lot of time that you could be loving, caring, believing, working, hanging, laughing, belonging, playing, singing and dancing.
2020 is a “leap year”. February 29 provides us with an extra page to do it all, so don’t waste it.