Handbook for 2010

I received this in an email.  I like it, so I'm passing it on. Don't know if I'll make 100%, but I'll be darned close ;-)  Enjoy.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants . . .

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily.  And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.  Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't overdo.  Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past.  Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past.  That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.  Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends will.  Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
37. The best is yet to come . . .
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy.  So, be happy.

A Gift for You for 2010

This morning, I woke up at about 7:30.  Typically, I roll over, look at the clock, take a deep breath, then get up and start doing something -- coffee, turn on the laptop, walk around the house and find my planner so I can plot my day, kick the cat (just kidding; I don't have any animals -- not even a mouse; yay!).... just something besides waste time laying in bed. This morning was different.

This morning, I looked at the clock, took a deep, leisurely breath, turned back over, laid there, quiet, cozy and relaxed. As I did, I noticed the warmth of my bed (I'm probably the last remaining human on the planet with a heated waterbed) while I listened to the quiet of my house. Sometimes "quiet" has character.  I noticed that I was breathing slowly and deeply; and I felt my heart beating, strong but quiet. Then I noticed that I wiggled my toes, and I tuned into that feeling; and felt the blood moving through my system. I felt the texture of the covers on my skin and listened to the soft, rustling sound they made when I moved under them.

I opened my eyes and looked around my room and became aware that I could see things. [Normally we just "see" things, but we really don't take an active appreciation of the process.] The light through my bedroom windows had "life" and substance, and weight, and I contemplated the wonder of eyesight and how that all worked, and considered what magic really happens in my mind and body that allows me to feel the textures of those covers over me.

Minutes later, the quiet, muffled sounds of street activity seeped through the walls and floated into my consciousness as I heard -- actually felt -- the low vibrations of the distant vehicles driving down my street. Still noticing my breathing, and the textures on my skin, and my skin itself, I enjoyed the awareness that I was alive -- smiling with each new revelation. Was this meditation? or just relaxation? or what ?

Altogether, I laid there for about 10 minutes -- maybe fifteen -- then got up, and headed for the kitchen to make coffee. I made an aromatic pot of freshly ground "Vermont Maple Nut Crunch". I realized tonight -- as I was cleaning up my kitchen -- that the pot was still FULL. After all that, I didn't pour a single cup. That's how relaxed I was when I got up. I forgot I wanted coffee!!

I know what you're thinking... but there was no alcohol or foreign substance of any kind :) involved -- I just turned my attention inward and focused on "me" with new awareness.  Marcel Proust said, "The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes."

We are often taught, in our society, that it is improper to turn our attention to ourselves. We are taught that turning attention to ourselves is SELFISH. I submit that that concept is in error. I submit that we NEED to turn some of our attention -- and sometimes ALL of our attention -- inward, to ourselves, in the manner I've described here, so that we can realize what truly magnificent creatures we are -- YOU are.  Even the most "messed up" of us.  If we spend more time tuning in to the miracle of us, many of our self-image issues will disappear; and this year, I PLAN to spend some time pointing out the miracle of you and helping that happen.  But not now -- this post is already longer than I intended, so we'll have to wait until I write more, to hear more.

In the meantime, here is a gift you can give to yourself for 2010: WAKE UP, Slow Down, and TUNE In... to the miracle you are, and see yourself with new eyes.

That's it for now.  Have an awesome day.

Kelvin