Passing of time...
I am anciently old...
old...
but only in age.
Most think I am much younger than I am. Could be my positive outlook... or my corny jokes... or my good health... with a very VERY HEALTHY EGO !!
While this board and others are focus on wealth and income... I often feel outside the center here.
Perhaps it has been because I have been desperately poor for long periods of time.... modestly wealthy at other times but mostly between these two extremes most of the time. I now have lived long enough and lived in the peaks and pits of experience to realize something about myself ... something many here would think ... what took you so long .
I have never had a fancy racy or expensive car. I have always thought of just getting from point A to B in a safe and reliable way. Basic transportation... and never letting my ego dictate what that would be. I would rather have the extra money for real estate and stock investments.
I live a spartan life ... not by need anymore but by choice.
Also... as strange as it might sound... Money is not caught up with who I am. I am the same fuzzy forest creature regardless of how fat or skinny my piggy bank is. So once the basic necessities of life are met ... the surplus is invested. Money does not make you a better person in spite of the fact that money seems to give folks a higher stature within the community.... that does not make you a better person.
Desperation can make poor folks do acts they never would do if they had a few bucks in their pants. Poverty and desperation are twins full of mischievous intents. So money might do some good at times to keep honor and integrity intact. A small amount of money invested in you fellow man might be the best investment you ever make.
I often feel aloof from money and content with those things that money cannot buy. I cherish most my friends... more so than most my relatives ... after all I picked out my friends... relatives were accidents of births ... and only a few remain on my Christmas list. As I get older, I surprisingly have become more sentimental ... something I use to laugh at in my youth. But now I face the sad fact all old folks do... most of my good friends have died off and each year the list dwindles down to fewer names. Here, luckily, I have followed my own advice which I now give to you...
It is the same advice I have often told you... please take it to heart while there is still time to do so... Life is all too short and brief... and the future unknown.
Like many things profound and important, it is brief and deceptively simple...
Hug a friend and tell them you love them.
Man or woman in your life but especial the men... our society mores exclude men from displaying emotion. Hugging might surprise them. ... but you never know who you might touch their heart and this simple act remembered forever.
I know this is true. It has happened to me... rarely has someone hugged me.. but I cherish the memory to this day. We too often fail to express our thoughts and feelings and then it becomes too late to do so when they are gone. An opportunity lost forever. Do not let this happen to you.
And a pet peeve of mine is that an acquaintance is not a friend but often called one. But in the name of Christmas Spirit it might be OK the blur the meaning of the two.
I do love "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men"... I only wish we could have more of both all year long. One takes everyone's effort, the other only takes yourself to make happen.
So for those who are left reading this sentimental note...
Happy Holiday ...
I do wish you all a bright future.
but only in age.
Most think I am much younger than I am. Could be my positive outlook... or my corny jokes... or my good health... with a very VERY HEALTHY EGO !!
While this board and others are focus on wealth and income... I often feel outside the center here.
Perhaps it has been because I have been desperately poor for long periods of time.... modestly wealthy at other times but mostly between these two extremes most of the time. I now have lived long enough and lived in the peaks and pits of experience to realize something about myself ... something many here would think ... what took you so long .
I have never had a fancy racy or expensive car. I have always thought of just getting from point A to B in a safe and reliable way. Basic transportation... and never letting my ego dictate what that would be. I would rather have the extra money for real estate and stock investments.
I live a spartan life ... not by need anymore but by choice.
Also... as strange as it might sound... Money is not caught up with who I am. I am the same fuzzy forest creature regardless of how fat or skinny my piggy bank is. So once the basic necessities of life are met ... the surplus is invested. Money does not make you a better person in spite of the fact that money seems to give folks a higher stature within the community.... that does not make you a better person.
Desperation can make poor folks do acts they never would do if they had a few bucks in their pants. Poverty and desperation are twins full of mischievous intents. So money might do some good at times to keep honor and integrity intact. A small amount of money invested in you fellow man might be the best investment you ever make.
I often feel aloof from money and content with those things that money cannot buy. I cherish most my friends... more so than most my relatives ... after all I picked out my friends... relatives were accidents of births ... and only a few remain on my Christmas list. As I get older, I surprisingly have become more sentimental ... something I use to laugh at in my youth. But now I face the sad fact all old folks do... most of my good friends have died off and each year the list dwindles down to fewer names. Here, luckily, I have followed my own advice which I now give to you...
It is the same advice I have often told you... please take it to heart while there is still time to do so... Life is all too short and brief... and the future unknown.
Like many things profound and important, it is brief and deceptively simple...
Hug a friend and tell them you love them.
Man or woman in your life but especial the men... our society mores exclude men from displaying emotion. Hugging might surprise them. ... but you never know who you might touch their heart and this simple act remembered forever.
I know this is true. It has happened to me... rarely has someone hugged me.. but I cherish the memory to this day. We too often fail to express our thoughts and feelings and then it becomes too late to do so when they are gone. An opportunity lost forever. Do not let this happen to you.
And a pet peeve of mine is that an acquaintance is not a friend but often called one. But in the name of Christmas Spirit it might be OK the blur the meaning of the two.
I do love "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men"... I only wish we could have more of both all year long. One takes everyone's effort, the other only takes yourself to make happen.
So for those who are left reading this sentimental note...
Happy Holiday ...
I do wish you all a bright future.