Rules To Live By

"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Life is too short to be anything...but happy"

I got this message in an e-mail this morning and it struck me that we should all live by these rules. Life would be much better if we would.

The hardest time of my life, and it wasted way too many years, was when my mind dwelt on the injustices in my life instead of the blessings. I couldn't let go of my miseries and I allowed them to almost ruin my life. These days that doesn't happen because I've retrained my thinking, making it easier to let go of the bad and enjoy the good. I have to admit that it took years of counseling to get me to this point but the good news is that it's even possible.

There was a large article in the newspaper today, written by a lady who suffers from depression and explained how she will not be ashamed about her condition and is seeking help to deal with it. I applaud her. I also wrote my own "letter to the editor" about my feelings on the subject. Mental illness of any kind is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a disorder, sometimes chemical and sometimes an inability to cope.

My senior years are spent laughing often and enjoying every little thing I can. I have made it a point to apologize when I'm wrong or when I've made a mistake...it makes me feel better and it has to make the aggrieved one feel a little bit better. But the most important thing I've learned and been able to take to heart is to let go of what I can't change. Letting go gives us a physical release of tension that is hard to explain. There is relief mixed sometimes with sadness but it's always empowering.

Age has many benefits but one of the best is that it gives us lots of time to develop into a nicer and stronger person, one who can face the day with a better understanding of how to get the most out of it.

I'm 71 years old (can't believe I made it this far) and I'm a happy lady. I guess you'd call that success, don't you think?

Update: I got a call from the Spectator that my letter to them would be published on Monday.