What quotes rock my boat or keep me afloat in the big adventure that is LIFE?
Here are some nuggets of wisdom that I’ve garnered over the years and that are particularly helpful when the pressure is on.
I can’t remember who said them all but whoever did, thank you for the insights.
1) If you do your best what happens will be for the best. This is a calming thought when you’ve absolutely killed yourself doing some massive task and the world doesn’t appear to give a toss. Hang in there and you’ll see that it was worthwhile. There has to be a reason for the drive that made you start the big project in the first place and the determination that kept you at it, right?
2) You can’t solve a problem with the thinking that created it. Good one too. If somebody had only told me that years ago I wouldn’t have gone round in so many circles.
3) 1 year = 365 opportunities. Yes, days (and years) zip by and it’s a good idea to make the most of them because guess what – time is a finite resource, says she, aged 53 . . . One of these days I’ll be waltzing with a zimmer frame and putting my teeth in a glass at night but I’ve a lot to do before then so I’d better make each of these 24-hour babies count.
4) You can be reared with the habit of not loving. Habits like this can suck the joy out of life for everyone round you. Tragic waste. Appreciate what you have and show appreciation.
5) There’s always some truth behind ‘just joking’, some knowledge behind ‘I don’t know’, emotion behind ‘I don’t care’ and pain behind ‘it’s okay’. There are several books in that one long sentence, methinks.
6) What other people think of you is none of your business. When I reach this stage of serenity I shall let you know. Probably by loudspeaker. From the top of MountLeinster.
7) Wearing a proper fitting bra makes you look a stone lighter. Another thing I should have learned years ago.
8) Running away from the problem only increases the distance from the solution. This is otherwise known as cowardice, displacement activity or even the biggie – the geographic solution. So much better to face up to a problem as soon as possible. That took some learning – and still rears its head occasionally.
9) There’s no such thing as perfection. This was demonstrated for me when I recently changed my mobile phone network because I couldn’t get reception in place ‘x’. I now can’t get it in place ‘y’ – my own house – unless I sit on the eighth step of the stairs, that is. Hi, Kermit’s nephew.
10) To be able to see the goodness in yourself and in others is a gift. Are too many Irish people unable to do that? That ‘sin of pride’ lark from years ago has a lot to answer for. Seeing your own good points and those of others (as well as the bad ones – we have to be realistic…), means you start everything from a more positive standpoint.
11) If you don’t like something, change it. You’re not a tree. Being a hurler on the ditch can be a lot easier but nothing changes then, does it? Similar to that other saying that advises lighting a candle (even a teeny one) rather than curse the dark.
12) You will never find time for anything. You must make it. This should be written in stone right beside my television set. What a time waster that can be if I let it.
13) This too will pass. A very comforting mantra in tough times (repeat as necessary while deep breathing). Even when you think pain will never ease it somehow does. Closely related to that other nugget ‘time is a great healer’.
14) A café teapot that doesn’t dribble is a rare and wondrous thing. Is it because teabags clog up the spout holes, forcing the tea out under the lid? The messes I’ve had to mop up with a serviette . . .
15) Acceptance that there is strife in life – that it’s normal – makes life more bearable. It eliminates the ‘this isn’t fair’ wittering and ‘what did I do to deserve this’ moaning that takes one round in more circles. Down with circles, I say – vicious ones at least.
Until next time, cheers – M
