Spirit Fodder
Friday, December 26, 2003
Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering
experience…
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
Oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future.
Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,
Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy.
Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults.
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…
The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t
Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t.
Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…
What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…
Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse.
But you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia.
Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…
- Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) , Baz Luhrmann
Wear a pink ribbon
A handsome, middle-aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down.
Before he ordered, he couldn't help but notice a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him, and it wasn't until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.
The man brushed off the reaction as ignorance, but the smirks began to get to him. He looked one of the rude men square in the eye, placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked, quizzically, 'This?' With that the men all began to laugh out loud.
The lead man said, as he fought back laughter, 'Hey, sorry man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your little ribbon looks against your blue jacket!'
The middle aged man calmly motioned for the joker to come over to his table, and invited him to sit down. As uncomfortable as he was, the guy obliged, not really sure why.
In a soft voice, the middle aged man said, 'I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother's honour.'
'Oh, sorry dude. She died of breast cancer?'
'No, she didn't. She's alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as an infant, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I'm very grateful for my mother's breasts, and her health.'
'Umm,' the stranger replied, 'Yeah.'
'And I wear this ribbon to honour my wife,' the middle aged man went on.
'And she's okay, too?', the other guy asked.
'Oh, yes. She's fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured and nourished our beautiful daughter 23 years ago. I am grateful for my wife's breasts, and for her health.'
'Uh huh. And I guess you wear it to honour your daughter, also?'
'No. It's too late to honour my daughter by wearing it now. My daughter died of breast cancer one month ago. She thought she was too young to have breast cancer, so when she accidentally noticed a small lump, she ignored it. She thought that since it wasn't painful, it must not be anything to worry about.'
Shaken and ashamed, the now sober stranger said, 'Oh, man, I'm so sorry mister'.
'So, in my daughter's memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. Now, go home and talk to your wife and your daughters, your mother and your friends.'
And here the middle-aged man reached in his pocket and handed the other man a little pink ribbon. The guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, 'Can ya help me put it on?'
----------------------------------------------------
I wear a pink ribbon for my mom. She's alive and well but we know what it means to find a lump or lumps.
Do regular breast self-exams and have annual mammograms if you are a woman over the age of 40. And encourage those women you love to do the same. Please share this with anyone you would like to remind of the importance of breast to cancer awareness.
A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER CANDLE, PLEASE KEEP THIS CANDLE GOING!
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Shiver
So I look in your direction, but you pay me no attention, do you?
I know you don't listen to me, 'cause you say you see straight me, don't you?
But on and on from the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your side, just you try and stop me.
I'll be waiting in line, just to see if you care.
Did she want me to change?
Well I'll change for good.
I want you to know, that you'll always get your way.
I wanted to say
Don't you Shiver?
Shiver, Shiver
I'll sing it loud and clear
I'll always be waiting for you
So you know how much I need you, but you never even see me, do you?
And is this my final chance of getting you?
On and on from the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep
I'll be there by your side, just you try and stop me.
I'll be waiting in line just to see if you care.
Did she want me to change?
Well I'll change for good
I want you to know, that you'll always get your way
I want you to say
Don't you Shiver?
Shiver, Shiver
I'll sing it loud and clear
I'll always be waiting for you
Yeah I'll always be waiting for you
Yeah I'll always be waiting for you
Yeah I'll always be waiting for you
For you, I will always be waiting
And it's you I see, but you don't see me.
And it's you I hear, so loud and so clear.
I sing it loud and clear.
And I'll always be waiting for you.
So I look in your direction, but you pay me no attention,
And you know how much I need you, but you never even see me...
~ Shiver, Coldplay
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Odd, what marriage does to a couple: Study
London – Marriage does different things to men and women, according to a study done at the Queen Mary University here.
The study found that getting married may be bad for men’s health but good for women’s, BBC Online reported yesterday.
The study, which questioned over 4,000 men and women under the age of 65 across Britain, found that men who marry are more likely to suffer mental health problems than those who simply lived with their partners.
The opposite is true for women, who do best without a relationship at all.
The study also found that men and women whose first relationship lasts stand to reap the rewards later in life. They are least likely to suffer mental health problems.
(Article taken from Streats, Monday Dec 22 2003)
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When I read the article, I was so tempted to go “Cool, now there’s a reason for me to spout my ‘I don’t believe in marriage’ line!”
But I didn’t.
Maybe the following questions will make you think about the issue:
1. It’s a study, not a research.
2. Test subjects are from only one country (Britain) and the uniformity of test subjects were not specified (number of test subjects in each age range, distribution of gender or race, background and social standing of test subjects, conditions or guidelines of study etc.)
3. What’s considered good or bad mental health?
4. What are the mental health problems indicated?
The most important thing to remember that it’s only a study that has not been strictly researched but has potential to turn up some hopefully ground-breaking insights into the workings of human relationships and emotions.
Monday, December 22, 2003
The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist
I hope that I never get to the point where I'll see the need to take my own life. And neither do any of the people that I know, for that matter: -
http://home-4.tiscali.nl/~t892660/msp/time.htm
