Sterling Bobbitt
Dawn thoughts come creeping, unbidden. Life examined, minutia mulled. Make use of this time to dream, scheme.
Associate with joy. Find people that experience great joy in their life and emulate them, celebrating the spirit they bring to life. My parents were blessedly two such.
Search for forgiveness in yourself - support a "National Day of Forgiving" that seeks to forgive those we can and at least seek a reconciliation with those that we can't.
Bitterness and hatred poison their bearer; life is not long enough to carry these burdens.
Ask for the best in people, and work to help them meet that expectation. Give them a reason to want to succeed, even if it is only the joy of doing a job well. Allow them the pride in that accomplishment, and acknowledge it.
If you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to raise a child, make that an opportunity to make the world a better place. Teach him or her to respect the rights of others and to press the boundary of their knowledge forward on a daily basis. Leave a legacy of learning. Read to them!!! There are very few excuses to shirk this responsibility.
Prioritize and execute. Too often we find ourselves side-tracked by the meaningless. Lay out a game plan with goals, and work to achieve them. Find a balance between personal gratification and service to others. Ask yourself "What have I contributed lately?" If the answer is not readily apparent, get busy.
Be ready to die tomorrow. Left something undone? Affairs not in order? Make it so, or realize that it just really isn't that important to you. Our grasp on this planet, at least our personal one, is tenuous. Don't worry about that fact, just reconcile to it and celebrate the day.
I have been fortunate - very fortunate. While not unalloyed, my life has been sweet beyond belief. I recognize and appreciate that fact, even though by most measures and expectancy charts, I have a long way to go. Doesn't matter - I'm ready today. Not jumping on any bandwagon or drinking any hemlock, mind you - but ready.
Have a wake when I am gone. Pluck out and donate any of those parts of my body that could help anyone live a better life, then cremate the rest. Scatter my ashes in a brook that turns into a river that flows into the sea. Play "I Shall be Released" by the Jerry Garcia Band (Arista Records - 07822-18690-2 9:26) at the wake, dance and sing, laugh and leer, drink and "smoke 'em if you got 'em," and hug my children for me. Weep elsewhere. Know that while I may have had regrets, they were few and FAR between. I'm inconsequential - we are everything.
What does matter is that we take care of this planet. It will outlast us! Poison it as little as possible. While not a "Chemophobe," I do worry about the legacy of waste, pollution, and foul air, soil, and water. We all need to tread lightly until the day when we, too, "shall be released."
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
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