Embracing Life

Thursday July 17, 2008, 3:18 am
I have almost forgotten how to do this...to appreciate the small beauties in everyday life, to cherish today, to appreciate what I have now and may not tomorrow. We all need to remember that although death awaits, we still have a lot of living to do.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 3:43 am

Thank you Cate. Having seen a family member through a terminal illness,
this post was particularly meaningful. It reiterated what I had seen, death was accepted, and life was lived, joyfully, in the present.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 3:56 am
Cate I do I love life and all creatures in it...I admire the true beauty of the butterflies flying around so gracefully..the wind blowing little dust tornados around..I live everyday to my fullest for I wanna go out happy and make all peeps happy and laugh and just enjoy everything they do have and not worry about what they dont...

Big Gorilly Hugs

Thursday July 17, 2008, 4:25 am
Yes, we should all embrace life!

Thursday July 17, 2008, 5:06 am
Noted with thanks Cate :) My father had a cancerous tumor removed on Tuesday and the operation went well. As a family, we have been having some deep and meaningful conversations lately and we are all feeling so close to each other. When we are forced to face our mortality, it tends to change the way we speak to each other. I need to put a sign on my fridge that reads " Don't take your life or the people in it for granted - tell them you love them every time!"

Thursday July 17, 2008, 5:12 am
Let's not forget to embrace Julie Amero's life...we have 534 signatures on our petition...if you haven't signed yet please do...and spread the word to all. Thanks!
Justice for Julie

Thursday July 17, 2008, 6:12 am
I take everyday like it was my last. I fully enjoy life. Being with my family makes it so much more meaningful. I already signed the petition. Thanks Cate.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 7:01 am
Thank you Cate!
It is great to be reminded about the "deep appreciation for the fragility of life" and keeping in mind "to appreciate the small beauties in everyday life". ~

Thursday July 17, 2008, 8:05 am
I am enjoyiing life to the fullest. I happy for everyday that i wake up with my spirts high.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 8:44 am
Thanks Cate I think we all need to be reminded to live life to it's fullest and appreciate too.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 8:46 am
Everyday I wake up and try to find beauty in the world immediately around me. I try to live my life like my dogs, in the moment, just happy to BE and in unconditional love. I enjoy to the fullest watching my pit bull wake up next to me in the bed and smile when he does his morning stretch and yawn and then the good-morning facial I always get from him! I marvel every time I see a hummingbird at the feeder in my cottonwood tree in my front yard every morning...

Then I get online and there goes my peaceful in-the-moment-compassionate mindset--every single time, every single day. I have yet to get online and have one day, ONE DAY, without going critical mass in under sixty seconds about something going on or being done or getting wiped out. Every single day (that I do go online)...for the last 13 years!!! I must be a closet masochist! LOL.

BUT, at the end of the day I make myself sit on my back deck in the evenings with my eyes closed and listen to the wind in the trees and all the different bird songs. And if I am very very lucky, I will get to hear coyote song from beyond my back fence. I do this almost as a ritual to clear my mind and my heart from all the garbage I encounter during my day and refocus on what is truly important and truly matters, to me.

Death comes to us all, what matters is to truly live your life that you are given. :)

Thursday July 17, 2008, 9:24 am
A friend wanted me to recapture what I was going to tell her before she shut me down.
The moment was lost.Afterwards she wanted to know what I was going to say after 2 weeks.I refused to go there,cause that moment was lost with the possibility of taking my words out of context.
Yes,Live in the Moment!
No Day but Today.(Rent)

Thursday July 17, 2008, 11:53 am
"Don't spend so much of your energy pursuing the life you want or avoiding the life you fear. Have the faith to live the life you have - and live it fully, with great love and gratitude."

mmm..mmm...mmm, I love those words I quoted from the article. Live in the Now, with gratitude and Love. Petition was most definitely signed, thank you, Cate.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 12:12 pm
I try to live my life to the fullest. Understanding that to be thankful and grateful is the key. "Live simply....so others may simply live." Namaste.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 1:35 pm
I too wake up every morning Thankful for another day and for family and friends to hear birds chirpping dogs bark. the wind blow in the tree and butterflies going by such beauty we have and yes we are to live one day at a time. Thank Cate

Thursday July 17, 2008, 4:16 pm
Be thankful for what we have, and learn to love....especially self.
Let go of past hurts and disasters....unless you let go of past hurts....you have no future....and this affects your love...self and others.
Make plans.....if you have not made plans, how can you complain that every thing has gone wrong....Take control of your life... have you been drifting?
Make decisions based on the best knowledge and advice...not emotionally....
put some sweat equity in your life...make changes in your life ... explore ..be discerning with friendships.....some pull you down, or expect YOU, to make every thing all right...or are toxic..Some people never learn....make sure that's not you....
We have some Ladies making comments on this topic, who are showing true Beauty...this comes from within, and age does not diminish...this especially includes you Cate.....

Thursday July 17, 2008, 4:21 pm
The death of those close to us remind us all about the fragility of Life as the article delicately puts it. The moment of death itself can come in a multitude of ways and probably it is enough to know it is coming without us dwelling upon the nature of our actual death. death has been the greatest tabboo, the most avoided subject with all those ways in which we can aviod saying the word...passed on, passed over, she's gone, she's away now, fell asleep....noooo the word we should say is they died. I had the privilege of working with terminally ill children a few years back and found they were so much more open about talking about their deaths...even planning for them and their funerals all very matter of fact. It was quite an eye openner.

So Cate anothetr great article and very thought provoking especially for me at this time of the year. My thanks.

Thursday July 17, 2008, 7:51 pm
I cannot claim this, it was sent to me...but appeared appropriate..

Old Age, I decided, is a gift

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have
always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my
body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often
I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks
like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving
family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've
become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become
my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making
my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but
looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be
messy, to be extravagant.


I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before
they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until
4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and
if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ..... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging
body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to,
despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is
just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important
things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart
not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even
when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are
what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never
broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being
imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning
gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep
grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have
died before their hair could turn silver

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about
what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've
even earned the right to be wrong.

So, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have
become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here,
I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying
about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I
feel like it)


MAY OUR FRIENDSHIPS NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM
THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND
IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

Thursday July 17, 2008, 10:39 pm
Ken S what a great article. Having just turned 65 I tend to agree with most of it. '
Cate, Living life every day to the fullest is a great piece of advice. You never know what is around the corner for you. Live and love. Lots of love.

Friday July 18, 2008, 5:53 am
OFF TOPIC REMINDER:
SIGN IF YOU HAVEN'T - SPREAD THE WORD IF YOU HAVE: JUSTICE FOR JULIE - we need 450 more signatures!

Friday July 18, 2008, 1:55 pm
Cate, as usual, and Ken S. thanks to both of you. Being a person with a/multiple disabilities change your outlook on life granted. However, one can be bitter and wait for, or not, death. It is in the way that you lived your life before. Growing older has its perks. Young people can be very generous or not, as with every other human but your demeanor is what will get the reaction that you get back. Remember Baby Boomers outnumber ya'll and will keep on for the next 2-3 decades and we are stayiong alive longer. So, be careful how you present yourself aned just remember the Golden Rule and you'll do just fine.

Friday July 18, 2008, 3:32 pm
Saw this on another web site. I think it's appropriate here. Retta wrote this: Pretty cool!
If I want my dreams to come true, I must not oversleep.
Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends - Be one.
The quality of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.
The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.
I should keep my words soft and sweet in case I have to eat them.
One thing I can give and still keep: My word.
One thing that can't be recycled is wasted time.
I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.
Ideas won't work unless "I" do.
My mind is like a parachute: it doesn't function unless it's open.
The 10 Commandments are not multiple choices.

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 8:33 am
Thanks for the story Cate. I don't worry about what I can't control. I am not a control freak but I do have some physical problems that I leave to the doctors who are getting paid for it. I try to do what I can to make a difference in the scheme of things so when my time is up, I can say "Hey, I gave it my all, my very best."