Today we celebrate the Earth, although I’ve often thought that we should be celebrating it “every” day since we’d have nothing to stand on if it weren’t here…

Living in California and facing grave water shortages I’m reminded daily what an amazing planet we live on.  It supports us in breathing, eating and drinking and it provides us with incredible entertainment (Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, Northern Lights and the light shows from thunderstorms – which I’m hoping I’ll actually get to see this year).

So today, no matter where you live:

• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth
• Don’t flush so often
• Turn the water off in the shower as you soap up, wash your hair and shave.  (Your legs will have a very close shave as it will be a bit chilly in the shower and the hairs will stand straight up.)
• Take 5 minute showers instead of planning your entire day while the water is running
• Save the water you run while you’re warming up the shower and use it for your plants
• Keep a container of water in the refrigerator so you don’t need to run the faucet until it’s cold

Remember:

• Washing your hands takes one gallon of water
• Shaving your legs takes one gallon of water
• Old toilets take 3.5-7 gallons for every flush

It’s stated that a human uses approximately 80-100 gallons of water EACH day.  Just imagine storing that many gallons in your home.  What if one day you went to turn on the water and there was none?

So from me to the big ball of blue we stand on, thank you for gravity and Happy Earth Day!

Grateful for living here and you,

Sheree

They’re deceptively hard to hike in… really!

I know I’m getting older and my eyes should be getting worse, but they sure are noticing a lot of things, like where did my eyebrows go?  They were here a minute ago and now they are gone – except for those few lone grey hairs – awesome, just awesome.

And what about when I do downward dog in yoga, when did that skin over my knees start to look like the knees of my mother?

While my 50’s brought me the ability to speak more truthfully, I’d like to believe that my 60’s will be bringing me more than the effects of gravity.

We went hiking last week in the hills behind our home (I think of them as very large mountains) and I agreed to take the “long” hike.  As I stopped to catch my breath, for the 4000th time, I tried  to remember what underwear I was wearing in case I had to be airlifted out by paramedics and taken to the hospital.  I came to the realization, as I watched the vultures start assembling, I may not be as athletic as my ego perceives me to be.  How does one recover from the realization that we’re not 20 anymore?

They were just waiting for me to stop…

I figured I needed to re-learn that long forgotten math concept – proportions.  If I could walk 12 miles in my 20’s I should be able to walk 4 in my 60’s, right?

Not all is lost as I seem to be hearing better than I did in my 20’s.  I love hearing the birds outside and the children laughing at the school nearby.   I’ve also learned to HEAR silence, which actually IS “golden.”  Plus I think I’ve become a better listener, trying to put aside my needs/wants for those of the person speaking.

Being in my 20’s I believed there was only one way to do things (my way), one way to see things, hear things, sense things – when in reality that was wrong.  I can still believe all of MY things but don’t need to force those beliefs onto anyone else to make them valid.  (My children are probably applauding right here.)

And though my sight has brought me some visions of aging, it has also shown me how a person’s smile is not only in the muscles in their face; but how it’s also in the depth of their eyes.

Thinking about it, I only wish it wouldn’t have taken me an additional 40 years to realize that the free will we are given as humans – isn’t really about choosing what happens in our lives, it’s more about choosing how we react to the paths we are given.  Even if those paths are through very large mountains…

Whatever century you may be from, I invite you to take five minutes and run through all the things you’ve learned since your 20’s, even if you’re still experiencing your twenties, and smile deeply with those eyes at all the lessons you have learned!

I’m off to research the complexity of knee lifts, buy some eyebrow liner and some really cute underwear for those “just in case” times…

Grateful for you,

Sheree

p.s.  Thank you Jeff for not leaving me behind for the vultures….