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What does it mean to age well?
“It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.” ~Andy Rooney What does it really mean to age well? Our cultural view of aging is fraught with contradictions. It’s safe to say that each of us wants to live a good, long life — but we’d like to do so in perfect health with motivation and energy to spare. And while we’re at it, we’d prefer to erase our wrinkles and tighten those saggy chins and knees. We’d like to maintain the beauty and resilience of our youth while we earn the wisdom of our elder years.…
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How generosity grows
“A field is empty, but if you put in the effort to grow something then you will have a garden. And that’s life. If you give something, something will come back. Give nothing, nothing will come back. To grow a flower is a miracle: it means you can grow more. Remember that a flower is not just a flower, it is the start of a whole garden.” ~Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth Have you ever noticed that generous people seem to have a surplus of wonderful things in their lives? In today’s quote, Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku reminds us that we reap what we sow in the field of…
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Gratitude
“Of all the practices, I believe that learning to feel and express gratitude may be the most important in achieving and maintaining a happy life.” ~Andrew Weil, M.D. Are you counting your gifts, advantages, and blessings? Numerous studies show that keeping a gratitude journal on a daily basis will improve our life satisfaction within three weeks. You need only list a few items — and they don’t have to be major. Small pleasures add up to a big increase in contentment. Consider the taste of your morning brew, the fall colors on your morning walk, or the lovely handwritten note you received in yesterday’s mail. Record your gratitude list at…
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Be who you are
“Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.” ~Lady Gaga Halloween is twice as much fun now that we have a grandchild who’s old enough to enjoy the festivities and spooky decorations. Last weekend, we took three-year-old Liam to the Zoo Boo event at the Detroit Zoo, where he could show off his costume for the first time in public. This year he chose to be “Super Liam,” drawing inspiration from his favorite superheroes. The costume was his own idea, and with a little help from his parents he sported a purple cape, a mask, and green suit complete…
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When things get crazy
“The world is a puzzle. There’s no need to make sense out of it.” ~Socrates Sometimes it feels as if the whole world is falling apart. If old Socrates thought his life was a puzzle, I wonder what he’d think of our lives today? The best we can do, at times, is throw our hands in the air and surrender to the chaos — without adding any more to it. Sometimes we can’t save the world or even clean out the whole garage. As any good philosopher will tell you, there are situations beyond our immediate control. But we can always take care of our own little corner of the…
