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!
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 verylargemountains) 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 verylargemountains…
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….
I started thinking about honesty after a conversation with a sweet little Girl Scout outside the grocery. I asked her how much the cookies were this year. She, in all her 10 year oldness said, “Five dollars a box, they really up’d the prices this year.” I tried not to laugh out loud as a mom behind her swung around and said “Which one of you said that?!?” I stopped her and said, “No really, I was thinking the same thing and I appreciated her honesty”. I bought two boxes and as I walked to my car I thought, “I truly admire that 10 year old.”
Let’s be honest, I agree that knowing some truths don’t always make us happy. So here are a few of my truths…
Siri Smart Talking
1. Siri is not a real person even though she’s truthfully been acting like one.
2. I don’t want to know the truth about tiny critters living on my eyelids.
3. Even though it’s good for you, exercise basically hurts, that’s the truth.
4. Fast food IS bad for you, but the truth is, I sometimes need a small Dr. Pepper and fries.
5. Muffin tops will always be there if you wear bottoms two sizes too small, it’s true.
6. I truly want to believe I’m not the only person in the world who has put their phone in the refrigerator.
7. Truth is I’m not ok with buying a cup of coffee that costs $4.25, when a pound of coffee, used at home can formulate down to $.23 a cup.
8. If everyone in the world was treated to a massage, there would be no wars, a basic truth.
9. No matter how good you know you’ll feel, when your acupuncturist goes back twice for more needles, you’ll truly be nervous.
10. Sunshine does make everything look better, basic truth of nature.
11. When a bad day or mood occurs, taking one minute to smile will change your outlook, a proven scientific truth.
12. Santa Claus is real, that’s the truth.
13. In the 60’s and 70’s we used to personalize our cars, now we personalize our bodies, weird truth.
14. The internet is amazing, but isn’t always truthful.
Ah… the “truth” from the internet or Facebook. I try NEVER to comment on articles, unless it’s a positive comment, but last week I got sucked into a “comment banter.” All I did was research the issue and type, “Not true”. Big mistake, the flood gates were opened. The funny part of all this, by stating the truth I actually defended a party I don’t support. The article just WASN’T ACCURATE and no one wanted to take the responsibility to fact check.
We post or share things that support our way of thinking whether they’re true or not with just a little click, no matter whom it hurts. It can take 5 minutes to check an article’s accuracy, but we just don’t. Is it because we believe everything that is written on the internet? Really?
We all need to sit, or if you’re super busy, stand, for five minutes and truly be honest with ourselves. “Why do I continue to follow the crowd if I know it doesn’t seem quite right?” “Why do I make a conscience or unconscious effort to blindly forward articles that may not be true without checking them out?” What is MY responsibility?
Behind every story, is a person, people or issues that can be affected forever, by just one click. Here’s an amazing Ted Talk by Monica Lewinsky, who speaks about the incredible power of a click and the devastation it caused in her life and all those who are cyber-bullied.
So it’s back to the basics we learned in Sunday school…
Valentine’s Day is the exchanging of cards and the giving of hearts full of candy to people we love. That doesn’t only mean with a spouse or partner, well it can mean them, but it can also mean that Valentine’s Day is for girlfriends too!
Mom’s favorite – Bleeding Hearts
I’ve had friends who have seen me at my worst, a BFF who knows the size of my liver, sisters who are friends and friends who seem like sisters since I’ve known them forever. I’ve had teachers, doctors, hair stylists and yoga instructors who I consider friends because we’ve looked and found the best in each other. And while defining girlfriends, I recently read an article about the 8 types of friends a woman should have. Is that all?
My girlfriends have counseled each other, celebrated with each other and mourned together. They’ve been there to tell me (in a graceful manner), that I’m doing something stupid but they would still love me. They’ve been there to laugh with, cry with and just be still with. They’ve changed my surgical dressings, brushed my hair and took me to doctor appointments. They supported me through major life changes because they know I’ll be there for theirs. They’ve moved away, but never really do. And as we always say… husbands and partners come and go, but girlfriends will last forever.
I think of my friends with such awe. Not on a pedestal, because we all have that occasional ‘fail’ but because they pick themselves up and keep on going without a second thought. They’d be there in a minute, or in my case, a few hours by plane or car and they ALWAYS, no matter how busy or buried with work, find time to talk with me about anything, even a really, really bad haircut.
Valentine’s Day is for Girlfriends too!
A couple of years ago a friend needed some special prayers; I reached out to a few of the women I knew. That “few” has now grown into an amazing prayer group of 34 women from across the country. This is a group of women who want to help even in the smallest way – which turns out to be the biggest way, emotionally and spiritually supporting someone they don’t even know. Most of them have never met, some I’ve never met, but all are cyber ‘girlfriends’ to each other and those who need a little something extra to get them through the day – incredible!
Don’t take your friends for granted even though they’ll probably love you forever. They’re soft and gushy inside and not always the rock they portray.
My heart does ache a bit as I’ve had to let some really amazing women leave my life because I felt I had failed at being the person they wanted me to be, I had let them down in all my human-ness. I also needed to let go of some whose drama outweighed the joy. I am blessed, though, to have learned from the lessons they left me.
So Happy Valentine’s Day and thank you my dear girlfriends for giving me that very special piece of you, like a little piece of chocolate from a heart shaped box. Your presence in my life has been and always will be — awe-inspiring!!
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…
