Celebrate Life!

 Celebrate Life--


I love life!

There is so much to celebrate each day.  Let's examine that a bit.

If we are fortunate to wake up each morning, that is reason to celebrate.  If we have a person who loves us, that is more than enough reason to celebrate.

Waking up to another day is a blessing. When the eyes open to that new day, there is a promise of life yet to live.  We get one more chance to do it right.   One more opportunity to right wrongs, to fight for values we hold dear, to love fully.  One more twenty-four hour period of time to fill with whatever we desire.  Isn't that a wonderful gift?

Having love in our lives is also reason to celebrate.  Love comes from many places.  It can come from family, friends, neighbors, spouses.  It is the glue that holds us together.  Fortunate are those of us who are surrounded with loving people.  Love is much more than a sentiment.  It is a commitment to stick it out when the going gets a bit rough.  It reminds us to look beyond the immediate moment.  Life changes.  People change.  Love remains even though it might get stretched at bit.  Yes, having a person/people who love us is a joy.

Loving others is another reason to celebrate each day.  What would life be like without others who enrich our lives?  While it is true that sometimes love for others dampens over time, it is also true that parts of it remain forever in our souls.  We are the sum total of all the people we have loved.  Each brings something to us that is unique.  When someone I love comes into view, my heart sings.  I am happy to spend time with them.  I look forward to their laughter.  I want to share their joys and challenges.  Loving others is a gift I give to myself.

When I was much younger and heard adults say health was all you really need, I thought they were senile.  Well, they were right.  Being healthy is reason to celebrate life.  It is possible we take our health for granted.  We forget to eat correctly, to exercise, to sleep enough.  And then we pay the price for our forgetfulness.  Getting back on track is the key.  All of us will experience illness.  That is the way of life.  But, we can help ourselves.  Each day we do the right things for ourselves, that is the day we must celebrate.

Feeling that we are valued is reason to celebrate.  Imagine if no one cared.  Imagine if no one ever expressed appreciation for our gifts and talents.   Being valued provides us with the desire to continue.  When someone expresses appreciation to me, I feel a little lighter.  My attitude is more positive.  I truly believe that I can do that next thing that is waiting out there for me.  Value added--we see that phrase in advertisements.  Those people who write those slogans know human nature very well.  They are right.

The ability to think and make decisions is another reason to celebrate.  Many have crossed that line where decision making is no longer part of their options.  We may all get to that place one day, but until we do, let's celebrate our minds.   We are told it may be possible to delay that by exercising our minds.  If that is the case, let's get with the program!  Let's stay mind healthy as long as possible.  I celebrate each day that I am able to make decisions.  Not ready for the rocking chair at the home yet!:)

On a lighter note--I celebrate the woman who cuts my hair!  Years ago when we were new to this area, I visited a hair salon for a hair cut.  The woman asked how I wanted it cut.  I told her to trim it a bit.  I also told her that it was very easy to cut too much.  She nodded as if she understood.  After a bit of cutting, I mentioned that she might be getting it a bit too short.  She replied that she had it under control.  And that frightened me!  When the hair cut was over, I was stunned to find a head with very little hair.  It was absolutely terrible.  So bad that I bought a short wig and wore it everyday until my own hair grew back.  Bet some of you have had similar experiences.  I celebrate my hairdresser who listens and cuts carefully.  Finding her was like Christmas.

There is so much to celebrate--children, grandchildren, home, jobs, nature, sunny days, rainy days.  Friendships that go on and on.  Special places that hold sweet memories.  The list is truly endless.  I suppose the point of this blog is to remind you and me that it is easy to forget to celebrate the ordinary in life.  It could be that we wait for the big to happen and forget to cherish the day to day stuff of life.  Yet, we live in that day to day place.  Hmmmmmmmm--something to mull over in our minds.

I celebrate each of you who read my blogs.  While I may not know who you are, I am aware that you are out there.  You occupy this planet with me.  We breathe the same air.  Walk the same earth.  We love and care.  We are so much more alike than we are different.  Yes, we are.

A thought for this week--find one thing to celebrate.  It could be a person.  It could be a place.  Whatever it is for you, let it know.  Tell a person.  Enjoy a place.  Allow your heart to sing.  As the song says--

"Celebrate good times, come on!"