HAPPY NEW YEAR

I read this in the paper the other day and thought it would be the perfect post to start the New Year. Great lessons for us all and so much easier to learn as we get older. LOL

Have a wonderful 2009, friends!

45 Life Lessons
by Regina Brett
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

“To celebrate growing older, I one wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 70 soon, so here goes.”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself too seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win an argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s okay to be angry with God. He can take it.
9. Safe for retirement with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past, so it won’t screw up your present.
12. It’s okay to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don’t worry, God doesn’t blink.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you, really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood, but the second one is up to you and nobody else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take “no” for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion…today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of your when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children only get one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems into a pile, we grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.