thefouramigosblog

I love primates and would really like to spend time getting up close and personal. The reason only a day, I’d have a hard time with them being confined.

I’m not much of a zoo person. Some are better than others. It gives people the opportunity to see wildlife without having to go far.

I prefer to see my wildlife in their environment. But still a day as a gorilla keeper would be cool!

I just read someone’s and they said the cheapest. While not always the cheapest I only buy things on sale.

I have a lot of Apple products. I really like them. But I bought them when they were on sale.

I love Toyota but when I went to buy an SUV I couldn’t get a good deal. So I bought a Lexus RX350 for a steal.

I’ve learned to walk away if it’s too much and grab it if it’s a bargain. It makes shopping entertaining.

I used to wear a Fitbit but they weren’t lasting very long. Fitbit would replace them if it was under a year, which it always was. Now I have an Apple Watch and it’s been going for over a year.

I also like to find great deals on travel and use points and miles. I do have some brands i am more loyal to because they give me perks.

All in all, brands are less important than the deal.

Throughout my life, I have had many people that I admired. Often for very different reasons.

I have a husband who I admire for his intelligence and his ability to weed through the BS. I often look to him to get feedback on my actions.

I had a father I admired for his wisdom and his ability to calm situations down. I admired my mother for her ability to always see the best in people. I try to emulate her kindness but oftentimes fall short.

I had a sister who I admired for her listening skills. She helped me develop my own.

I try to surround my self with positive people, who are kind and compassionate. These are the people I would trust with their advise.

While I’ve been told all my adult life that to be able to vote is a privilege, I have not always taken advantage of this privilege.

My feeling has always been if everyone stopped showing up at the polls, that would be the most powerful message of all. My thoughts on politicians are that if one gets to that level of power, they have been corrupted. And why vote for someone who is corrupt.

Response of voting for the better of two evils are not good enough for me. I want someone to represent me who is good, kind, and uncorrupted. Maybe that’s impossible but that’d what I would like.

So many years ago I did vote in a small town election for a man who was concerned about the lake where I lived. The town was growing rapidly causing run-off into the lake and the powers that be all just loved the profits. My guy lost and the town continued down the same path. Eventually, the lake had algae blooms, both green and red which made it unsafe to swim. The lake is no longer a beautiful place. Luckily I moved away many years ago.

Moving forward I have voted for candidates solely on one issue.

I do follow politics, have strong opinions on certain issues but most of all hope that someday we will have candidates who merit my attention. For now, not so much!

When you see that you are probably thinking religion but for me spirituality is much, much different. The religion part is the pomp, the tradition, the structure.

So when I say spirituality gives me direction I may be talking God, Allah, the Earth, Buddah or my spirituality which is the essence of all.

It is what teaches me kindness, love, support, nurture, dignity, respect. It is always good.

I’ve heard the saying religion is for people who are afraid of going to Hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there. It is easy to get confused between the two but spirituality is not about a particular religion. It’s the essence of spirit.

For most of my younger years, I went it alone with no spiritual direction, only my gut instincts. And not to say that listening to my gut is bad, it sure has helped me over the years, but having spiritual direction is better.

So where does this spiritual direction come from?

It comes from a power beyond my imagination. It is what creates the beauty in the universe. From sunrise to sunset the amazing landscapes of life.

This power resides in all of us. It is power of good. It is power of love. It is power of light.

What ever trimmings mainstream religions put on their beliefs, my spirituality encompasses all.

My spirituality has no bias. It all fits together as long as the direction is positive.

Mans’s inhumanity to man has nothing to do with spirituality nor does it have anything to do with religion. That course is taken by man’s mind alone.

I can feel spiritual vibes when I gently hold a baby in my arms.

It watching dolphins play in the water.

When I tap into this spiritual direction, I know my life is on the right path. And I’ve learned to trust this spirituality with my gut.

Or at least I try! Life is a Journey, not a Destination. This fits in well with Stop to Smell the Roses.

Sometimes we live life so hard and fast, we miss the now. And life is in the now. As I grow older this is so much more true since life goes faster and faster as my years add up. Today I try to stay in the moment cherishing each bit of life and all that surrounds me.

Think before I speak. I have worked on this my entire life. When I was young whatever thought came in my head came out my mouth. Inevitably I would offend someone or hurt someone’s feelings. I’ve learned that I don’t have to say whatever I’m thinking. I can be kind and not offend.

Sometimes I do need to say something but I have learned to take time and be gentle with my words. I do have to say that sometimes no matter how gentle, it hurts. But at least I weighed my words carefully.

A quote I think of my own is I don’t want to die before I am dead. I live in sunny Florida but it can also be God’s waiting room. People give up on life before they die. Becoming sedentary and losing muscle mass because of lack of movement.

I hope that I continue to live life yo the fullest. Experiencing new adventures. Learning new things. Meeting interesting people. Staying flexible in my beliefs and tolerant of others. Not dead!

This too shall pass. Life is filled with ups and downs. When the downs come I remind myself that it will pass. When all is good, I remind myself that this will pass. We learn from our difficulties and hardships more often than from the good times. We learn how to persevere. We learn how to say roll with the punches. We also learn how to change.

Change is good. But most people don’t like this. Most people like consistency. Most people like safety. But change makes us stronger. And life is a constant evolution of change. We adapt. We grow stronger. We thrive.