Monday, August 9, 2010

Monday Ramble


Oh, my, another Monday morning.  Another week of work ahead of me.  Where does the time go?  The heat and humidity are back in full force today, and it was just a dreadful trip to work this morning. I just cannot stand sweating, never could. And then you have those who not only sweat, but also do not believe in proper hygiene and deodorant. Ever sit next to someone who showers themselves with cheap cologne...but seems to have forgotten to take a shower?  

"When Time who steals our years away
Shall steal our pleasures too,
The mem'ry of the past will stay,
And half our joys renew."
--Thomas Moore, 1779-1852--

How many of us spend much of our lives wishing for better times?  We may wish we could turn back the pages of time to an earlier period that now appears to have been much better than the present.  Or we may wish to move forward in time to some hoped-for happy moment in the future.  It is the present that most of us have trouble living in. Yet, let's face it, the present is the only time period in which we can ever live.            

Personally, I see nothing wrong with remembering the 'good old days'. In fact, some of my past memories give me the greatest joy.  Who doesn't smile when they recall riding your bike as fast as the wind or holding your nose and jumping into a cooling lake on a hot summer day. It is when we dwell in the past that we run into problems...when we see no hope of the future...or fight the process of aging...that we run into problems.  We start to say, 'oh, how i wish I was"...or "Those where the best years of my life."  But were they?  Were they really?

Isn't it  possible that the "good old days" weren't really as good as we remember them? Are we remembering only the good parts of the past and blocking those  memories the unpleasant parts?  Are we focusing too much on the negative aspects of the present and ignoring some pretty good aspects of our current lives?  Isn't it possible that if we really try, that we can almost always find something to feel good about almost every day, or at least every stage of our lives?  

My goodness, did I ever fight the aging process.  I never wanted to grow old; I wanted to stay forever young.  There was a time I hated to look at myself in the mirror, and when I did, I usually blacked out all the flaws or wrinkles. Whenever people asked my age, I always took at least ten years off...and for a long time was able to get away with it.  But, there comes a time when age catches up with you, and you can either continue to deny it and be unhappy, or you can embellish it as a stage of life.
    
"Youth is like spring, an over-praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.  Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits." Samuel Butler   
   
We grow older,  our children grow up and leave home to start their own lives and families.  And many of us find that as we grow older we are forced to give up some activities that we enjoyed so much in our younger years. True, but aren't there new activities available that can help to replace the lost ones?  Isn't it better if we find them rather than spend our time moping about what we have lost?  Our lives are a treasured gift.  Let's not waste them by thinking 'what if...'.

"A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life."- -  Charles Darwin

                   


                                         

7 comments:

  1. i usually complain that soap isn't that expensive..i feel for you when you are crowded in a bus or other form of public transportation :S
    i try not to dwell on the past to much, you give us some good advise

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  2. Sooo sorry that you have insult added to injury... As in... Heat back! And traveling to work with people who don't know [or care about] basic hygiene, etc. :-(((((((

    Oh that "clock of age"! Learning to deal well with it, can be a full time occupation. ,-) But since it's the same for all humans [we all get old or we die first], it's best [for us] to learn a graceful acceptance.

    But....... Graceful acceptance.... -hahhhhh- Where do I go to find a full and overflowing compliment of that?!? ,-)

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  3. I decided recently to live in the moment. There is nothing I can do about the past for it is the past and I do not know what tomorrow will bring. I only know this moment right now. I have been practicing this when I wanna throw my hands up in the air with anxiety and well, depression. My life is like a roller coaster. Up's and downs. I honestly hate to think of the future and what it has in store for me being that at 35 I have so many aches and pains. But I will not think on it and will learn to accept it when the time comes. Thank you Mary- you are always so full of wisdom. Your Friend- Angie

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  4. At a certain age I added 10 years to my age.
    40/50 Damn you look good for 50.
    50=60 Damn you look good for 60.
    60=70 Damn you look good for 70.
    Then I got tired of playing that game & just tell them my real age.
    Damn you look good for....
    Elders get alot of respect & I find people tell them lil white lies so not to hurt their feelings. ;0)

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  5. Yesterday was a really nice day here, there was a real breeze and not much humidity. Terrific day for doing the laundry! Then the storms came in early evening that was the end of the low humidity. But is was great while it lasted. I so feel for you having to sit with someone that doesn't care to use deodorant, makes for a very long ride. Wishing you a low humidity, breezy day!

    (((HUGS)))

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  6. I am ready for our heat to go away... yet do not feel I can trust the weatherman to get excited about his weekend forecast for rain.... I have to agree that I think we do remember fondly the past... at least some of us... I do not like to dwell on the negative so it is usually the good things I hold on to

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