Tag Archives: thought

A Day in the Life

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Learning “to be” is a different concept as my past was a life of “doing.” Believing I am retired, is also a new thought or maybe just believing I can live a retired life… is something I am having to get a grip on. Enjoying getting up whenever, having coffee leisurely, tinkering around, cooking and just envisioning myself in a lifestyle I never had is my new direction. My sweet friend Ross is allowing me to do these things in his lovely Queenslander home in Bundaberg, Australia.

I wake up to birds chirping at 5:30 am. Sometimes it is raining or like today a beautiful sunny morning, coffee on the deck, and Bob, the Butcher Bird appears on the rail for a visit. He is a “young’un” with no fear of humans and very curious. What a delight to have a bird just within reach to chat with. His mom shows up with a worm and he is off to have breakfast. A set of rainbow colored birds fly hurriedly by, chipping loudly, it is a family of Lorikeets. They are the most beautiful parrots I have ever seen. I want one for a pet, plus a kangaroo and a koala. Truly Australia is the land of unusually wonderful creatures.

Last Thursday was Australia Day, a celebration day for patriotism and similar to our July 4th, Independence Day. Innes Park was the site of festivities including live music, food, arts and crafts. A very rainy day we sloshed from tent to tent checking out the activities. I was able to pet a blue tongued lizard a young boy was carrying. His dad, the ‘snake man’ gave me a fright with the huge python snake he was letting others hold. Australia has the largest number of venomous snakes in the world, leaving me to think the only good snake is not near me! Time to move on. We walk down the beach, sighting a hawk with a fish in his mouth. The rain is drifting away to reveal a bright sunshiny day.

Critters are abundant here and each day is another wonderful retired day of “being” in OZ.

Love yourself first to best love another!

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Today is Chinese New Year’s eve, and I have a dinner to attend downtown.  Cabs will be scarce so I may have to take a bus and the metro.  This could be another humorous adventure for me.  Speaking of humorous, I have a dear friend in Houston that made a comment to me today about love and humor.  He says,  “the most intimate and successful relationships, he has observed is the “love yourself first to best love another” feature in common.”  What a wonderful thought he expressed to me.  We both find love and humor walk hand in hand.

I think of my past relationship and I can truly say he did not love himself.  I ponder this, and think why was that so?  How can someone not love who they are?  Such a foreign  thought for me, because loving myself is so easy.  I so enjoy who I am and I seem to be my best friend.  I can entertain, cook and just find things to do all the time to enjoy.  I find humor in just the simplest sights and actions.  I like to write funny stories about the simple everyday humor I bump into.  The camel at the toll booth as we are driving to the Great Wall, oh my gosh how funny is that?  Paying 5 RMB to take an old wrinkly Chinese lady’s picture and I had to ‘Jew’ her down from 10!  The term “Jew.” I picked up from my dad.  He used that expression when be bargained for antiques.  He was such an “Archie Bunker” personality!  You want to laugh, let my dad talk about diverse populations in his 60’s slang wording?  OMG he would embarrass me to death as a teenager.  What I would give to sit at the kitchen table and just listen to him, now.  He died of cancer some years back.

If you are seeing humor and experiencing it all the time, wouldn’t that make you a happy person?  I think so.  Smile and the world smiles too, a great expression.  I like doing that as I walk down the street.  How many Chinese will smile at me today?  I of course will smile first, as the sight of a white lady with curly blond hair is so foreign to them.  They can’t but stare.  So I smile, and then they realize they are staring and shoot you back the biggest sometimes toothless grin, you have ever seen.

Remember Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young?  “If you can’t be with the one you love, then Love the one your with.”  I will put a new spin on this song and say “love yourself, if you can’t be with the one you love!”  Learn it is okay to take care of yourself, love yourself and laugh at yourself!  Good advice Bill, thanks!