Reminder Note To Self

Don't wait for the "right" moment.

The right moment to travel the world... quit a job that makes you unhappy... start something new... tell somebody you love them... invite a friend.

Don't wait for a better opportunity - just do it.  Life is a pretty fragile condition. The "perfect" moment doesn't exist - create it.

Don't perpetually postpone  living to the future.  Don't postpone what might make you happy today thinking you can do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow may never come.

Don’t say that you do not have the time. We all have time, the question is how we choose to use it. If an opportunity presents itself, go for it. The longer you put something off, the less likely you'll  do it. Procrastination is a sure way of  missing your chances and there is nothing worse than looking back at your life with regret.

Don't let your fears keep you from trying to pursue your dreams.
Everybody has fears, it's human. Don't run from them, deal with them.

Don't say you don’t have enough money. Money is always an issue. Decide not to make it one. Decide to make it work. If money is tight, start being creative. Don't despair. Don't be ashamed to ask for help if need be.

Don't "over-educate" yourself. With so much information instantly available these days, there are so many resources,  endless opportunities - you can google yourself to hell and back - but the more information you get, the less you are able to act upon all that knowledge,  it simply leads to confusion... what is right, what is wrong, what is important, what is not? There’s not enough time in a lifetime to consider each and every aspect of a subject.

Don't ask the internet. Ask your heart.

Try to live each day to the fullest, as if it was your last. When you find you failed, forgive yourself. Make the necessary changes. Try again.

Don't push yourself too hard - just keep your dreams and values in mind.

Have faith.

Be happy.

Start now.

Desiderata

by Max Ehrmann
written around 1920

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.


Desiderata is Latin and means 'things that are yearned for', which in the context of the poem more closely means 'essential things'.

Joie de vivre

simply...lilli! ... spent the day enjoying the sun ... she got into her tiny little car, wound down the windows as wide as possible, took off her shoes and drove barefoot along deserted country highways ... full speed, the music so loud she could feel the bass pulsate in her bare soles ... on and on she drove ... hair, heart and soul blowing in the wind ... a gorgeous mess of love and life, wearing nothing much but the brightest of smiles.

then she turned off the music and slowed down her speed, listening to the bird's songs, the buzzing bees and the wind in the trees, gently cruising through shaded streets lined by lush green linden trees ... until reaching a bathing pond, got out into the open, stretched out her sun-thirsty body amidst a meadow covered in dandelion blowballs and grasses ... listened to nature's blissful noisy silence until almost too drowsy to make the short walk back through the woods ... into her car ... home again ... carrying that scent of sweat and sun and summer on her skin that makes her feel so brimful of life ...

ah, I so needed this quick side-trip into a vibrant outburst of simple joy ... thank god for life and love!

goodnight, a chairde!