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Positive Thoughts for Today
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LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS:
I don't think anyone can grow unless he's loved exactly
as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than
what he will be.
LEADERSHIP/SUCCESS:
Love and success, always in that order. It's that simple
and that difficult.
MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION:
Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's
work, but it's worth the effort.
All of today's quotes are from "Life's Journeys According
to Mister Rogers"
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Old Age
-Author Unknown
Old age, I decided, is a gift.
I am now, probably for the first time in my life,
the person I have always wanted to be.
Oh, not my body!
I sometimes despair over my body ...the wrinkles,
the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often
I am taken aback by that old person that lives
in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those
things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful
life, my loving family for less gray hair or a
flatter belly.
As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself,
and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie,
or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly
cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so
avant-garde on my patio.
I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;
before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the
computer until 4 a.m., and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the
40's,50's,60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep
over a lost love...I will.
I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over
a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon
if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini
set. They, too, will get old (if they are lucky).
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of
life is just as well forgotten. and I eventually remember
the important things.
Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your
heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child
suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car?
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding
and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile
and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair
turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched
into deep grooves on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their
hair could turn silver. I can say "no", and mean it. I can say
"yes", and mean it.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less
about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.
I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free.
I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever,
but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what
could have been, or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day!
Marilyn L. Ali
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