What Matters Now

 

Here is a free ebook for you to download and enjoy, put together by Seth Godin, the godfather of all things digital.  It contains interesting thoughts about life and humanity from 70 fascinating people.  Big thoughts and small actions make a difference.  Stop, put your feet up and indulge your mind with uplifting and insightful commentary.  My favourite is Elizabeth Gilbert from Eat Pray Love, I want to be her friend!

A Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person. When someone is in your life for a REASON . . . It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realise is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on. When people come into your life for a SEASON . . . Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

Love life, not stuff

This is my mantra for NO-vember, when Little Miss Sunshine is abstaining from any sort of consumerism.  No shopping for this little retail princess.  Aside from supermarket shopping, I am not supporting the retail economy in the UK.  ASOS’s like for like retail figures will slump, Boots will go bankrupt and SpaceNK will never be the same.

Defeating the purpose of my virtuous crusade just a wee bit, I made sure I did loads of shopping last month, getting my ASOS fix in before the credit cards were put on ice.  I also made a slight error in judgement today, when I downloaded an iPhone app – but that’s hardly stuff now is it?  It’s not going to take up any space in my tightly packed wardrobe or my overflowing drawers.

I watched this video called ‘The Story of Stuff’ some time back and it made me think about the life cycle of stuff, about all those things I’ve bought and not used, about the cheap little things you buy – just because you can.  I don’t agree with everything in the video, but it does make you pause and think.  There are repercussions for all of our consumer habits, some of them are positive, like keeping the economy flowing and people in jobs.  Some of them are not so positive however, as our creaking planet can attest to.

So I’ll keep you updated as to my one woman crusade to save the planet this month.  Who knows, some frugal habits might just extend past this little experiment, god knows my credit cards and bank balance would benefit greatly… but then there are all of those people who depend on me shopping to keep the economy ticking over.  What a shopping dilemma I face, but not until next month so I’ll mull it over until then, feeling all virtuous and frugal.

Lessons to Live By (courtesy of Regina Brett, who isn’t 90 years old)

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 so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting 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 the present.

12. It’s OK 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 never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one 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. Overprepare, 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 almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you 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. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift