Looking fear squarely in the eye

Life happens now,
Don’t lose it in yesterday
Or throw it away waiting for tomorrow

My New Year's resolutions all centre on having a fuller, balanced life this time around. In the past I have always focused on one thing to the detriment of everything else. No more!

My mortality is staring me down and I have come up with a plan. Plans are part of my personality it seems. Oh yes, the best laid plans of mice and men....but I am a bit anal about certain things and I need the structure. At the same time I like thinking outside the box, usually in colour. Over time, you will 'get' what I am saying even if you never quite understand.

I will focus on 10 key areas. They are not in any order because if they were, 'Relationships' would be last and 'Work' would be first. I will discuss them in this Blog - what I am going to do, what I actually end up doing and my experiences along the way.

1. Contribution
2. Hobbies
3. Leisure
4. Family
5. Alone time
6. Personal Growth
7. Work
8. Relationship
9. Friends
10. Health

It's called Starting Over.

A friend sent me the following wise words to help on the journey...

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain 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.

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, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

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

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.