Life

Birthdays are celebrations of life when you are present to celebrate and can be actively involved in the celebration. A “Celebration of Life” for you happens when you’re no longer around for the celebration - you’re dead. (Jean) Thankfully, I’m around for this year’s celebration of my birthday today. I have been actively involved in expressing the way in which I want to spend this birthday. At times, my life’s journey has felt like being on a roller-coaster ride and other times like a cruise ship sailing smoothly along. ...

I’m pleased to introduce my good friend, Cynthia, who is seventy-eight years young. She has always been a very positive influence on me in her outlook on life and her youthful enthusiasm for living. I wanted to know what was her secret to “youthful aging.” What were the life lessons she learned along the way that might help me with my own aging process? For those of you who have followed my posts, you may have noticed that I like to highlight my friends. I have done posts on the skills, talents, and abilities, or whatever moved me about some of my friends - and this post is just another example. ...

This year has gone by very quickly. It feels like it was just the other day I was preparing for Christmas 2015. “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Well, to tell the truth, it wasn’t all fun. Life has its challenges and there are always valuable lessons to learn as we spend our days here on Earth. For anyone thinking that lessons stop when you leave school, I have news for you. They begin on the day you are born and continue until the day you take your last breath. I am 67 and learning many valuable lessons at this stage of my life. As the saying goes: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” ...

[caption id=“attachment_2976” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] “Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ‘Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, ‘Til in Heaven the deed appears - Pass it on.” (Henry Burton)[/caption] ...

It’s my 67th Birthday today. I haven’t blogged for a while because my computer was hacked. However, thankfully, it’s up and running now since my brother gave it a complete overhaul. What an age we live in! When I went to do a search on Google, there were all these images of cakes at the top of my screen. I wondered which well-known person was having a Birthday today. I moved over the image to see who it could be - lo and behold, it said: Happy Birthday Jean! For someone 67 years young, it was wonderful of Google to acknowledge my birthday in this way. I am fortunate to live in this digital age and to have this kind of experience. Growing older comes with wonderful surprises! ...

We all at one time or the other have questions about life, the natural world we live in, our inner worlds, and about existence in general. How did everything come into existence, when did this happen, who was responsible, and what part do we play in this unfolding drama? There are all kinds of theories. As long as we are conscious of our existence, which we humans are, we ask these kinds of questions. The philosopher, Socrates, is said to have uttered the words “the unexamined life is not worth living.” I wonder whether he was referring to these questions we ask in our minds and hearts and the answers we are seeking. That calls for a lot of examination. ...

[caption id=“attachment_2989” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] It’s not the teaching, it’s the learning. ~ Sly Stone[/caption] Opportunities abound everywhere and at every age to get involved in activities that involve learning. We don’t have to be in school to learn. In fact, most learning takes place outside the classroom. I had reason to reflect on the challenge of learning this past week as I set myself to the task of using a new program for making my collages. There was an element of fear within me. The fear was there because I didn’t know how they would turn out. I had got used to the old way of making collages. I decided to throw all caution to the wind. As Nehru says: “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” ...

[caption id=“attachment_2958” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] From an evolutionary standpoint, human consciousness has not been around very long. A little light just went on after four and a half billion years. How often does that happen? Maybe it is quite rare. Elon Musk[/caption] ...

I believe that the nicest and sweetest of days are not those which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string." Anne of Green Gables A new year has just truly begun and the above advertising poster, “New Year, Wellness 2016, New You” struck a chord in me the other day. This was in one of my favourite downtown Toronto bookstores. I particularly noted the word “Wellness” there. Of course, there’s a huge inventory of Wellness books and magazines carried in this store. Immediately, the thought came to me that I should plan to spend more time exercising in the gym, taking walks outdoors, making healthy “green” drinks and eating more fruits and vegetables. Maybe, I thought, I should even consider taking a yoga class. Yoga is good for the body and mind. After all, wellness is one of the most important things in life, if not the most important. Or, is it health? ...

As we approach the end of 2015, thoughts about years past and particularly 2015 come to mind. My own experience of life after 66 years on the planet reveals that there are always many varieties of experience - some that bring untold happiness and some tinged with sadness and grief. This is true of any given day or year. My own personal review of this year finds me thinking about the massive job it was to downsize from the place we called home for 30 years. This job took up most of the year. There were challenges along the way but with wonderful teamwork and support, the job got done. It’s nice that this particular season of life is over and another has begun. “Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.” (Thomas Merton) What was planted in my soul this year is the fact of impermanence - things change and we move with the changes. I thought at one time that I would live and die in that house but my feelings about ownership and possessions changed - all for the good. ...