Life on life’s terms
One might think that by the time one is approaching the 8th decade of one’s life that one would have had thousands, if not billions, of opportunities to practice acceptance of life on life’s terms. After all, it is patently obvious that no matter what one does or does not do, other people have their own issues and lives, mother nature shows up (often with little warning), us humans get sick and at some point will die, our children have their own journey and decisions, and most people do not acknowledge that one is the center of the universe. Just this morning I arose even earlier than usual to drive 35 miles for scheduled appointment to get a trailer hitch installed for my bike rack. Traffic was not as heavy as I expected and a I arrived even 20 minutes prior to their 7 a.m. opening. When they did opened I was informed the hitch had not arrived. The clerk insisted he had left me a message and he indeed might have left someone a message but not on my phone. I came home and started cleaning. While cleaning I noticed toilet paper holder was coming off the wall. I had to locate that tiny Allen wrench needed to remove the holder and reattach it. A friend just emailed me that something she had written had suddenly disappeared from the computer and she was having a difficult time calling up the wording she had originally used. She has a very busy day. In fact she has had a very busy week sitting with mother-in-law while she lived her last days. She then she took care of all the details for the funeral and closed out social security and all the other connections her mother-in-law had. She had not planned in her busy schedule to do any of that this past week, but, of course, her values dictated she change her plans.
In the immediate city in which I live, the state, nation, and the universe mother nature and humans have been leaving the effects of their actions for the rest of us to face and live with.
Of course, I could fill pages and pages of positive and negative events which have happened just the last few days. I am sure all of us could do that on any given day. Yet, it seems we often act as if change or events we could not foresee are a huge surprise and too much for us to handle. We may even tell ourselves we are fragile and cannot handle life on life’s terms. Some of us may attempt to numb ourselves with alcohol, drugs, sex, food, shopping, work or money. We may attempt to insist that others are responsible for our health and need to center their life around our needs. If a particular person or set of persons do not do this well we may trade them it for another person or group. We may do this over and over again with the same negative results.
Some of the truths we would be wise to face are:
Written November 6, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
One might think that by the time one is approaching the 8th decade of one’s life that one would have had thousands, if not billions, of opportunities to practice acceptance of life on life’s terms. After all, it is patently obvious that no matter what one does or does not do, other people have their own issues and lives, mother nature shows up (often with little warning), us humans get sick and at some point will die, our children have their own journey and decisions, and most people do not acknowledge that one is the center of the universe. Just this morning I arose even earlier than usual to drive 35 miles for scheduled appointment to get a trailer hitch installed for my bike rack. Traffic was not as heavy as I expected and a I arrived even 20 minutes prior to their 7 a.m. opening. When they did opened I was informed the hitch had not arrived. The clerk insisted he had left me a message and he indeed might have left someone a message but not on my phone. I came home and started cleaning. While cleaning I noticed toilet paper holder was coming off the wall. I had to locate that tiny Allen wrench needed to remove the holder and reattach it. A friend just emailed me that something she had written had suddenly disappeared from the computer and she was having a difficult time calling up the wording she had originally used. She has a very busy day. In fact she has had a very busy week sitting with mother-in-law while she lived her last days. She then she took care of all the details for the funeral and closed out social security and all the other connections her mother-in-law had. She had not planned in her busy schedule to do any of that this past week, but, of course, her values dictated she change her plans.
In the immediate city in which I live, the state, nation, and the universe mother nature and humans have been leaving the effects of their actions for the rest of us to face and live with.
Of course, I could fill pages and pages of positive and negative events which have happened just the last few days. I am sure all of us could do that on any given day. Yet, it seems we often act as if change or events we could not foresee are a huge surprise and too much for us to handle. We may even tell ourselves we are fragile and cannot handle life on life’s terms. Some of us may attempt to numb ourselves with alcohol, drugs, sex, food, shopping, work or money. We may attempt to insist that others are responsible for our health and need to center their life around our needs. If a particular person or set of persons do not do this well we may trade them it for another person or group. We may do this over and over again with the same negative results.
Some of the truths we would be wise to face are:
- We are almost always much stronger and more resilient than we feel.
- Nothing outside of ourselves will give us the contentment we seek. We are responsible for making peace with ourselves; for filling that void.
- We do need and can have a support system who can walk the walk with us.
- We can be present with life on life’s terms without a lot of drama.
- Life shows up and moves on with or without us.
- Over the long term, it seems as if all things do work together for good.
Written November 6, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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