In regards to this book: “How to Live on 24 Hours a Day“…
“The guy is pontificating on time,” I said, “It’s 1910 and this is what he’s got to say. His writing is wonderful. It’s enjoyable.”
“Oh yeah. What does he say?” my husband asked.
“You heard him.” I’d read a few paragraphs to him earlier. “He’s got a lot to say on the subject, regardless if you agree. You can run out of time,” I said. “You can waste it.. I asked satori; she’s a little younger than us. I asked her if she could see the limitations her mother faces due her age. She said she could.”
“Well yeah, P. Some things are coming. They’re coming whether you realize it or pay attention, or not. It’s like being pregnant. You can get ready for the baby. You can get a crib, you can go to breathing classes, you can do whatever you want to try to prepare and make it easier on yourself but even if you do nothing at all, that baby is still going to come when it’s ready.”
“Getting old is like that too. And seeing your skills degrade when they’re not put to use; and losing ability to do things in general.”
“Yeah, you can plan and prepare the best you can if you want but either way you’re coming to that point. It will happen.”
Do you think ahead and try to prepare at all?
Plan..I try to prepare myself as far as gauging what my reaction will be if x, y or z happens. But, you can never really prepare for anything. Once you are strong in who you are and base your decisions regarding anything that life presents you on that (what you value etc) then that is the best preparation.
I plan things like..how I’m going to pay bills, how I’m drafting my time schedule around this or that (kids ball games this day or extra work schedule this day) but in truth, our plans never dictate how things will go. Time never abides by our set of rules.
Sometimes.
In my experience, trying to plan ahead is an invitation to get my ass kicked. Having a plan in my head that is all lined up, with contingencies in place, that gets knocked over by a tsunami of bullshit pisses me off. I tend to just fly by the seat of my pants. I know that sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, but my life moves more smoothly if I just take it as it comes.
Good thing I can think fast!
I should have read Josi’s comment first. She seems to say what I would say before I say it!
We should have coffee sometime…how far are you from the frozen upper midwest, anyway? lol!
LOL! I would love to have coffee! I’m in North Eastern KY but the weather here is in the 60’s today with SUNSHINE!!! So come on down!
lol! We are having a heat wave here – it was in the 40s yesterday and the piles of snow are melting down during the day and refreezing at night. I didn’t wear a coat yesterday! It hits 40 here and we are ready to break out shorts and tank tops!
Alas, this is only our two week late January thaw. March is the heaviest snow month, so I can’t put the gear away just yet.
Since I put my notice in at the restaurant this weekend, chances are we’ll be doing some road trips on the motorcycle this summer. We get down that way, I’m going to look you up!
Kris! We are bikers too! Not the cruiser kind for long travels..maybe when we settle down a bit. He rides a Suzuki 750 and I’ve got a Honda CBR 600. LOL..we look pretty ridiculous on our respective crotch rockets with all our rubberized gear zipping through town, but we totally don’t care. In our world, we are superheroes 🙂
But yes! Do look me up. If you are in the area, let me know and I’ll give ya all the info 🙂
Lots of love already being passed around today I see. Happy Valentine’s everybody! I can’t sleep if I don’t make a plan, but it usually contains alternatives and plan b’s etc. And it is imperative to be flexible, as Josi wisely points out.
The only real planning I do at this stage of my life involves taking care of my body. I look at my elderly parents and think, yeah, no matter what’s happening when I’m old, I want to be as fit as humanly possible. If I can’t afford food/gas/whatever, I want to be capable of gardening, or walking a couple of miles. I have Capricorn and an intensely aspected Saturn and I intend on working in some capacity my entire life. So physical activity is my priority. Eventually I will look at my diet. I’m not up for that, yet. I still like my bacon and eggs (aka heart attack on a plate).
Wow, that spam filter loves us all, lol
@ Josi
Lee is the Mr. Harley. He has an Ultra Glide, and given that he is almost 79 years old, he still has what it takes to keep us safe on the road. I’m just the middle aged chick who sits behind him and enjoys the ride!
I’d be scared to death to drive one! So you Go Girl!
@ h.:
The most recent issue of Readers Digest has an article on the foods that we should be eating – you’d be happy to know that bacon and eggs are NOT verboten, in fact, that bit of fat to start the day is good thing. The way we’ve been told to “diet” is just not gonna do it. I’ll see if the article is online yet.
It’s not online, but the gist of it is covered in this NY Times article:
He’s written a book about it as well. Amazon has it. (Make sure you use Elsa’s link.) 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-Borzoi/dp/0307272702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297703808&sr=8-1
I’m with Annalisa on this one. I have a cappy moon and I am so fear based that living on the what if’s of the future that this moment usually passes me by. I have to remind myself that some TIME the fun is in the journey.
Oh my goodness yes. Not in a fixated way, but I am known for not only having a plan B, but plans x y and z if needed. I like to set things up so I can roll with whatever life throws me while I’m out there living it.
I had an epiphany when the economy started to tank, actually a little bit before it when the overtime started running out. I realized I wasn’t living on my actual income but counting on overtime wages which aren’t stable at all.
I also realized I’d missed quite a bit of time with my family, and I couldn’t really point to anything I owned that could quite make up for the lost experiences. The more I made, the more I spent.
I decided to make some changes. I’ve been trying to pare down and simplify so I can afford to live on social security and my 401K and IRA.
Richness of experience is worth so much more than possessions. I think it might be the only way to avoid regret at the end of it all…
used to always be looking in rear view mirror so to speak. Now realize I have been spending so much time trying to figure out whats coming that I’ve been missing out on whats here
I’m very aware of time passing and it really freaks me out a lot of the time. I know that random special moments happen and then they’re just a memory… You never get those moments back. With my son, I’m trying very hard to really savor and appreciate every stage of him growing up, because I know one day not too far from now he’ll be grown and these days will be behind us. I read something somewhere, maybe even here, that helps me feel better… That there’s something comforting about having all those memories stored up from a life well lived. As you get older, there’s less uncertainty, which can be both sad and comforting at the same time.
“Richness of experience is worth so much more than possessions. I think it might be the only way to avoid regret at the end of it all…”
I think this is very wise and I’ve lived my life in this manner. I’ve taken risks esp with my heart, but also with my working life – and had some heavy falls. Living abroad was sometimes planned, sometimes not… it was always a risk as I never had any money.
But there is little in the past from which I can’t take a great deal of value and a life with neither risk nor spontaneity is hardly for me worth living.
I have Uranus on the MC and maybe it’s this which provides my addiction to spontaneity. I hate planning ahead – I’ve been known to set off for foreign parts with no hotel booked even on business trips! But I do keep my long-term goals in view and consciously work towards them
So far as old age is concerned, I should exercise and don’t (must get that dog…). but I do keep my mind very well occupied as I have an absolute horror of Alzheimers, being so Mercury ruled. The study of astrology and charts, and of racecards and form, affords me plenty of mental activity!
When I move din May 2009 I was very conscious that this would be my last dwelling place, short of a nursing home (and I doubt I’ll hang around for that…). So I was careful to find somewhere I;d be happy longterm (and damn the steps and the stairs – I’d rather break my head than rot in a ‘home’ lol)
yes l think about it and do nothing 🙂
The picture says it all. Perhaps what I am learning after 56 years of just letting time slip on by is this very Saturn in Libra philosophy I am developing: HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH TIME. What should follow is a nice rhythm of getting things done and a creative flow of events. Practicing this while Saturn is still in Libra.
Great post!
Feels like a reminder for the 2020
Not even Neptune in Pisces will distract us from a current reality
The world has aged and it finally shows