Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom (And Whimsy)

Posted on March 29, 2023 under Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom with no comments yet

 

 

 

 

Having time to read is such a gift

 

I stumbled across this a few weeks ago and thought it was worth sharing.

Simple Formula For Living. Author Unknown

1.Live beneath your means.

2. Return everything you borrow.
3. Stop blaming other people.
4. Admit it when you make a mistake.
5. Give clothes not worn to charity.
6. Do something nice and try not to get caught.
7. Listen more; talk less.
8. Every day take a 30-minute walk.
9. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
10. Be on time. Don’t make excuses.
11. Don’t argue. Get organized.
12. Be kind to unkind people.
13. Let someone cut ahead of you in line.
14. Take time to be alone.
15. Cultivate good manners.
16. Be humble.
17. Realize and accept that life isn’t fair.
18. Know when to keep your mouth shut.
19. Go an entire day without criticizing anyone.
20. Learn from the past. Plan for the future.
21. Live in the present.
22. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

This is a pretty good blueprint for happiness.

Here is my interpretation:

1. Living below your means as a senior is pretty easy as I have discovered.
2. I borrowed a hair dryer 50 years ago. Don’t need one much these days. Time to return it.
3. Don’t blame me. I’m an old goat.
4. Admitting mistakes has become a full-time occupation.
5. I tried giving away my clothes to charity. They suggested that I keep them!
6. Yes. Be kind even when no one is looking.
7. Two ears. One mouth.
8. Hardly worth getting out of bed for just a 30-minute walk.
9. Perfectionists are colossal bores. Do your best.
10. Punctuality. My pet peeve although I’ve softened a bit in later life.
11. I have no argument with this one.
12. This might be the toughest one on the list. There are still bullies in this world.
13. Unless the person behind you is going to purchase lottery tickets.
14. Quiet time is a gift, but loneliness is a big problem for some people.
15. Excuse me.
16. “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble….” Mac Davis
17. No one skates through life without an elbow to the head.
18. My lips have holes in them.
19. Especially yourself. We all screw up from time to time.
20. Experience is a severe task master. The ultimate teacher.
21. Tell that to a baby boomer. Our heads are still stuck in the 60s (the 1960s!)
22. Don’s sweat the small stuff. Most of it is small stuff. Save your energy for the big stuff.

 

A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about reincarnation. I was very adamant that I wanted to come back in the next life as a poodle after looking after Cooper in Victoria for a few weeks. I mentioned my envy, that on our early morning walks on the Dallas Road chip trail, people routinely stopped, scratched Cooper behind the ears, told him he was beautiful and often gave him a treat. The last day I walked Cooper before his owners returned from their vacation, my friend, Martine joined me, as she had done several times. After our walks, we often went to a coffee shop to solve world problems. The coffee and croissants were delicious but sadly, none of the world problems got solved. We were exiting the chip trail on the final day, and Martine leaned in. I thought that she was batting away a mosquito, but it was -1 and no self-respecting mosquito would be out this early in the day. She scratched me behind the ear, told me that I was beautiful and handed me an individually wrapped piece of chocolate.

I’m still chuckling.

Have a great weekend.