Advice from Ninety & Awesome

This woman totally kicks ass!
I SO want to be like this when I am ninety! 

I came across this list yesterday... And Oh. My. Goodness. Is it awesome! I could not have put a better one together myself! I suppose she does have 60-something years on me though... 

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 42 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more": (Ah! She celebrates her age and refers to it as an odometer... I love! I guarantee this lady doesn't tell herself she's old when she gets up in the morning. AGE is only a STATE of MIND!)

I've taken the liberty to highlight some of my favs, even though it's hard because I like almost every single one of them:)

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 – enjoy it..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. 

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

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

8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile (Haha! Welcome to my life!)

10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 

(Let go. Release. Forgive yourself. Let go... It's hard, but essential.)

11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 

(Comparison is the thief of joy. -Teddy Roosevelt)

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...

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

15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways. 
(I am always actively trying to practice this. Lessening my attachment to material possessions. It has done wonders for the space in my soul.) 

16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

17. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. (happy face.)

19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 

(It's okay... people won't understand you. Repeat: It's okay.)

22. The most important sex organ is the brain. (bah! yah!)

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

25. Always choose life. (Sometimes I think we humans forget this... LIVE. NOW.)

26. Forgive but don’t forget. 

27. What other people think of you is none of your business. 

(Do you give a shit? I don't give a shit.)

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 

(Patience. Word of the Year. I can attest to the fact that this is so, so, annoyingly, true.)

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

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.. 

(I have learned so much about this one in the last year or so... what a miracle it is to laugh!)

31. Believe in miracles. (yes, please!)

32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

34. Your children get only one childhood.

35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 
(only love. only love.)

36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
(fresh air heals aches of the heart & ailments of the body.)

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

38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need. 

(Good one to remember, it is so easy to fall in to this trap in our society + culture, no matter how centered we are.)

39. The best is yet to come...

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

(This one is always a personal challenge in progress. One that I know I could probably do better at.)

41. Yield.

42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The beauty of this list is that the ones that speak to you most are maybe not the ones that speak to me most. I encourage you to ponder this list, even write it out and put it somewhere you will see it. 

I also encourage (myself included!) to add to the list! Make your own and let it encourage you to be the joyful human you are meant to be- Seize life and everything in it, make the most of what you have, bless others to do the same and love. Only love.