Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Worth Considering

My dear friend Heidi sent this in an email. I think it is worth reading and pondering.


George Carlin's Views on Aging 

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 

'How old are you?'
 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. 

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
 

'How old are you?' 'I'm
 gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life 
! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! 

But then you
 turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? 

You
 BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.


But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! 

So you
 BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you
 HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! 

You
 get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
 
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
 


HOW TO STAY YOUNG 
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.' 

2.
 
Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.
 
Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's. 

4. Enjoy the simple things. 

5.
 Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6.
 
The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 

7.
 
Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8.
 
Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 

9.
 
Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. 

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
 but by the moments that take our breath away.. 


9 comments:

go said...

Carlin was always one of my favorite people.

Lorac said...

Sandra, you hit the nail on it's head!To often we dwell on things we have not the power to change. Don't sweat the little stuff!

Judy said...

Oh, that is great...lets all take it to heart.

Ganeida said...

lol I'm numerically challenged; I stopped counting birthdays after about 21! ☺ Good advice though.

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

This is FANTASTIC! I love his points at the end...so honest and true.

EveryoneThinksThey'reGoodDrivers said...

Great piece, thanks for posting!

Just Jules said...

oh this is so funny. hadn't heard it before. laughed so hard hubby got curious so had to read it to him.

must stop laughing out loud so I can continue to sit at computer in my own little quiet selfish time (j/k -kinda)

Sandra said...

sometimes you need to think about how you are conducting your life. it's all you get, you have a finite amount of time and you don't get a do-over!

Memories Of Mine said...

funny and true.

When my dad died at the age of 54, I changed my way of thinking. You really don't know how long you have on earth, so you need to enjoy enjoy all of your time. This is why I don't often make lists of the things I want to do (although I love reading them) If I want to do something then I plan it and do it.