Recently I found this article that my mom clipped out of The Denver Post. Unfortunately, she clipped off the title, author and date, but I think it is circa 1992. It is a dandy and I am thankful to have it. The advice resonates with me

• Set some new goals for yourself. What do you want to accomplish before you die?

 

• Learn something new.

 

• Challenge yourself to do something you thought you couldn’t do. Don’t put yourself in jeopardy, but also don’t be so safe that you don’t feel alive.

 

• What’s fun? Figure out that answer to this question, and how you can integrate more fun into your life.

 

• Lighten up on the food, alcohol, and recreational drugs. Most of us overindulge in items that really don’t make us feel better, and frequently make us feel worse.

 

• Watch less TV, videos, and movies. Be more an active participant in your life, and less an observer.

 

• Plan something special soon: a weekend trip, a vacation, or a visit to your family.

 

• Exercise will help you feel better.

 

• What nurtures and nourishes you emotionally?

 

• What new things would you like to experience, experiment with, or try?

 

• Tend to your own sexual health and well-being.

 

• Figure out how to pamper yourself in ways that are positive, healthy, and truly serve you and your life.

 

• Play more.

 

• Permit your sad, angry, hurt, or negative feelings to be there, but also look at what gives you hope.

 

• A journal is enormously comforting and helpful.

 

• Be in touch, on a daily basis, with your soul or spirit.

 

• Ask your heart what it needs to thrive and blossom.

 

• Tend to the health of your significant relationships with other people, be they lovers, friends, parents, children, extended family, or colleagues. Keep your relationships with them positive to the best of your ability.

 

• Figure out how you can find value in what you are going through, and how you can grow form the experience.

 

• What have you been putting off that you would feel better about if you completed.

 

• Grow plants and be with animals. Life is healing.

 

• Make friends with at least one person who is in every decade of life.

When life deals you a lemon, you absolutely must make lemonade. This is about believing in yourself and the value of your life, rising to the occasion, and not letting adversity beat you mentally and emotionally.

 

Nature does not seem to allow us to stay in one place too long. We are permitted to stay just long enough to evolve to our next personal stage of evolution, where we can more fully develop ourselves. May the force be with you.