ONE SMALL ROSE
"I would rather have one small rose
From the garden of a friend
Than to have the choicest flowers
When my stay on Earth must end.
I would rather have one pleasant word
In kindness said to me
Than flattery when my heart is still
And my life on Earth has ceased to be.
I would rather have a loving smile
From friends I know are true
Than tears shed round my casket
When this world I've bid Adieu.
Bring me all your flowers today
Whether pink, white or red:
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truckload when I'm dead."
-- Anon e-mouse

There's stuff I know I go onanonanon about. Stuff like TIME. Stuff about LIFE. Stuff about being BLESSED.It's now my job to 'talk' to you about that. My new job.
Why?
Because I have some experience to SHARE. Some STORIES to tell.
Stuff that might help you THINK. If it does then it will take you one STEP closer to being HAPPY, or if you are already blessed to be happy, then happier. Closer to that wannabee place I call HAPPY-ME.
The title of my book is "Working Backwards". I am.
The sub-title of my book is "From Miser-ee To Destin-ee To Happy-Me". That's the Journey that I am on.
The reason I am BLESSED is because I was given a bit of hardship to make me THINK. Because I was able to THINK for a long time, I was able to LEARN. I was able to LEARN about LIFE. The GIFT. Limited by man made TIME. And it made me THINK about what matters. Here's a nice little piece I found that will shed some light about what I have learned:
Why?
Because I have some experience to SHARE. Some STORIES to tell.
Stuff that might help you THINK. If it does then it will take you one STEP closer to being HAPPY, or if you are already blessed to be happy, then happier. Closer to that wannabee place I call HAPPY-ME.
The title of my book is "Working Backwards". I am.
The sub-title of my book is "From Miser-ee To Destin-ee To Happy-Me". That's the Journey that I am on.
The reason I am BLESSED is because I was given a bit of hardship to make me THINK. Because I was able to THINK for a long time, I was able to LEARN. I was able to LEARN about LIFE. The GIFT. Limited by man made TIME. And it made me THINK about what matters. Here's a nice little piece I found that will shed some light about what I have learned:
WHAT WILL MATTER
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live
in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
- Michael Jacobson, Inspiration Peak

The standout word in that piece is CHOOSE. You cannot choose life but you can "CHOOSE to live a life that matters". Most of us wait to THINK about it all when the baaaaad stuff happens, just like Moi.
But if we understand the limitations of our gift of LIFE, if we are conscious of the mantra "Memento Mori", then we will give ourselves the OPPORTUNITY to make the right CHOICES. So why wait until the baaaad stuff happens before THINKING about a life that matters. I did. I won't anymore. I now CHOOSE to get done what I know will matter with whatever or how much I have left of this precious GIFT.
Your ME has stuff inside you that is waiting for you to find. All you have to do is start looking. So start THINKING about it. If you look you will find because of right CHOICES. Why wait to think when everything goes baaaad. Look now. Tick Tick Tick .............
But if we understand the limitations of our gift of LIFE, if we are conscious of the mantra "Memento Mori", then we will give ourselves the OPPORTUNITY to make the right CHOICES. So why wait until the baaaad stuff happens before THINKING about a life that matters. I did. I won't anymore. I now CHOOSE to get done what I know will matter with whatever or how much I have left of this precious GIFT.
Your ME has stuff inside you that is waiting for you to find. All you have to do is start looking. So start THINKING about it. If you look you will find because of right CHOICES. Why wait to think when everything goes baaaad. Look now. Tick Tick Tick .............