Core Story.


Number 27

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 31, 2010



Prompt: Core story.

What central story is at the core of you,
and how do you share it with the world?
(Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month.
Look through them to discover a thread you
may not have noticed until today.)


Focus and Balance.

For too many years I was the personification of self will run riot.
Me, me, my, my, mine, mine, my way or the highway.

Then, by a design not of my own, I was introduced to another world,
a world that included other people, a whole new world of different places
and a world where real people did not count things.

The new people taught me to seek a balance in my life,
to aspire to focus on doing the next right thing.

I have learned that I have a disease which affects me physically,
emotionally, and spiritually (better known as moral decay).

Only by hanging with the winners, by trying to help other affected individuals
and by maintaining a conscious contact with a Higher Power am I able
to have a life that is happy, joyous and free from guilt and shame.

I must do the above daily because when I lose my focus the old
stinking thinking returns and the balance in my life is destroyed.

“Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving.”  ~ Albert Einstein

I have been blogging every day for the past few years, sometimes two
or three a day, and the theme has always been a constant....change.

Grow in your understanding of yourself, your concern for others
and above all, humbly give thanks to a Higher Power that makes
all things possible.

God will give you the chance, the choices are yours.

Michael_e's mantram:  Be kind, be loving, be patient and tolerant,
                                   be the person God wants you to be.

"The mantram becomes one's staff of life and carries one through every ordeal.
Each repetition has a new meaning, carrying you nearer and nearer to God."  
~Mahatma Gandhi

Today I write to validate my focus, my balance, and to carry the message
to the many who do not know that there is an easier and softer way.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Michal_e


http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/

..
Bonus: Thank God, nothing out of the ordinary in the past month
of blogging on #reverb10, just a validation that I am growing older
and trying to become wiser.
The old part is easy, the wise part I am never to sure about...



..

Gift.

Number 26

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 30, 2010


Prompt: Gift.
This month, gifts and gift-giving
can seem inescapable.
What's the most memorable gift,
tangible or emotional,
you received this year?


Thank you God, I am up and at it this morning.

Sum Quod Sum, I am what I am,

What a gift.

People, places and things, 2010 was a good year because God gave

me the chances and as long as my choices were to do the next right thing,

to be kind, to show unconditional love, to be patient ant tolerant

and to be the person God wanted me to be, the right people,

the good places and the necessary things were always there,

just when I needed them, not necessarily when I wanted them.

When I look at the times in my life when things went the wrong way

it was always because I was trying to run the show, my way.

The gift of kindness works both ways, to have a friend

you must be a friend.

Unconditional love is a gift that says I may not like you

or your actions but as a child of God I will love you

until you hopefully get it right.

The gift of patience was taught to me a long time ago,

it was just my stubborn ego that prevented me from learning

the lesson until it was almost too late.

The gift of tolerance I am still waiting for; mean people and stupid

people still have the ability to upset me, get into my head and

make me forget my primary purpose.

The gift of knowing God's will for me has been given to me by

learning to listen; listening with a kind thought, listening

with a loving heart, and listening to the intuitive

spirit of patience and tolerance that is a part of the God within me.

Happiness is not only the gift of life,

it is also the gift of being able to choose

how you want to look at life.

Today, my glass is half full,  not being emptied,

but being filled with the kindness and love of the people,

places and things that God puts into my life.


Wishing you all the gift of happiness for 2011 and beyond.


ME and the Boss




..
http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/

..

Defining Moment.

Number 25

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 29, 2010



Prompt: Defining moment.

Describe a defining moment
or series of events
that has affected your life this year.



What, me worry ??

God said I must have done His will pretty good this year
because there were no defining Big Bang, Bright Light moments,
only subtle AHA realizations that affected my life this year,

This past year I hung out with the winners; nice, kind, loving people
that make life enjoyable and although a few have passed on
the acssociations I kept over the past year affected me
by keeping me happy.

I did not go to any places this past year that would provide
me with a defining moment. I did, however, make it a point to go
to the places that provided entertainment and motivation of a
positive nature. Nice movies, art shows, concerts, museums and
beautiful sunsets (and an eclipse) affected me
by making me joyous.

The most important things that affected my life over the past
year were the things I let go of. The older I get the more I realize
how little I need. If you did not look at it or miss it for the past
few years, sell it, give it away, one closet and a one car garage
are more than  anyone needs. Letting go and letting God provide
me with what I need, not with what I think I want, has affected me
by allowing me to be free.

Today; people, places and things, happy, joyous and free,
I seek out the best so that I may share the affect.

Love is the defining moment when you let life affect your soul.

ME and the Boss





..

Achieve

Number 24


in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 28, 2010





Prompt: Achieve.

What’s the thing you most
want to achieve next year?
How do you imagine you’ll feel
when you get it?
Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful?
Write that feeling down.
Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do,
or 10 new thoughts you can think,
in order to experience that feeling today.


Get published.

The feelings will be a sense of accomplishment, self satisfaction,
and motivation to keep on keeping on.

10 things?

What do you expect from an older person who doesn't have
ten brain cells that still work??

Since I listed only three feelings, I will give you three good reasons
why I experience those feelings every day, no brainstorming required.

Accomplishment, getting out of bed is an accomplishment, thank you God.

Self satisfaction, I have written at least one thought every day for the past
few years and over a thousand posts later I am very satisfied, thank you God.

Motivation, that feeling comes from a desire to give back what was so freely
given to me.
Many friends, acquaintances, enemies and even some family have
show me that I must do a few simple things every day and my life will get better:  
a)  practice listening closely to God talking to me through others,
b)  practice patience and tolerance and to care  for others,
c)  let a Higher Power motivate me to do the next right thing,
d)  body, mind and  soul, keep balance in my life.

As an aside, one of my favorite anonymous quotes:
"Be kind to your enemies, after all, you are the one who made them."

Achieving good feelings, easy, it is an inside job, a job that I can never retire from.

Happiness is accepting every day as an achievement.

ME and the Boss




..
http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/




..

Ordinary Joy


Number 23

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 27, 2010



Prompt: Ordinary Joy.

Our most profound joy
is often experienced
during ordinary moments.
What was one of your
most joyful ordinary
moments this year?


Happy, joyous and free..

Happy is an attitude, just do it.

Joyous is living in the moment, no matter how ordinary,
with only concerns for the consequences of doing the next
right thing, the will of your loving Higher Power.

Free is having no guilt or shame for the past.
Made a mistake or two, make amends, tell another person
and then let go and let God handle the rest.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present,
that is why it is called a joyous gift.

Profound is in the eye of the beholder.

Profound is to very deep, today, I look for the balance in my life,
nothing to very or much to, just ordinary will do.

"Find the gratitude in your life, and you will find joy standing right next to it."

  ~ Lolly Daskal

My most joyful ordinary moment was every day that God gave me last year.

Happiness is being ordinary.

Love is being profound.

ME and the Boss




..

Soul Food.



Number 22

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 26, 2010



Prompt: Soul food.

What did you eat this year
that you will never forget?
What went into your mouth
& touched your soul?


For this entire month, with every prompt, I end up referencing
that I am getting older.

With age, most things are better; gratitude, happiness, love,
friendships, but, unfortunately, there are also some down sides.

The body is the biggest downside to growing old and things,
like the metabolism, just don't work as well as they used to,
ergo, the diet must be altered to prevent the body from becoming
morbidly obese.

However, the soul still loves the food and with a change in attitude
and a little moderation of the intake, the enjoyment of fine dining
is still close to the top of my gratitude list.

Since 1974, I have not eaten beef, pork or any warm blooded animal meat,
the exception being a piece of turkey on the appropriate holidays, and of
course cold blooded fish and other sea food, such as shrimp and clams,
are on the diet.

I am a 66 year old American male who has never had a hamburger from McDonald's.

Ova, lactose, I do enjoy an omelet w/cheese once a month, must watch that
cholesterol, otherwise, I am not a very picky eater.

Cholesterol ???, my parents and grandparents did not know what it was and
it did not influence their diets, or their work ethic.
Therefore, I am under the opinion that Cholesterol was invented by the drug
companies so they could sell more pills. Ask your doctor, those who do not
have stock in the drug company, and the will tell you exercise and physical
labor are better than any pill.

I am also blessed to have a wife who is a very good cook, therefore my soul
is very happy to eat any food that we bring to the table.

Although it is only the two of us anymore, it is still important that we shop together,
cook together and sit together to eat our meals. Clean up is still my job.

Body, mind and soul, keep it together and all of life's little details become
chicken soup for the soul.

Happiness is body, mind and soul, enjoying a good meal.

Michael_e




..

Photo

Number 21

in

The Daily Challenge

from #reverb10,

December 25, 2010




Prompt: Photo

- a present to yourself.

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year.

Choose one that best captures you;

either who you are, or who you strive to be.

Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words.

Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

Short sift, no not jusy because I am vertically challenged, but

because I do not appear in many photos.

I don't leave home without my camera;I have hundreds of

pictures of my beautiful wife, a thousand pictures of the

beautiful flowers that surround our home, some pictures of

the birds which come to our feeder,  a few of the cat, and

fewer of ME.

For all that I think that I am, there is still a little, no I mean

small, no, no, no, let us stop the references to my height,

so let us say that there is an  amount of self esteem that is lacking.

Getting older and heavier is not pretty, especially when a

hundred years ago, under the influences of mind altering substances,

I thought that I was God's greatest gift to women, the best thing

since sliced bread, the cat's meow and all that jazz.

I have a God today, and it is not me.

Thank God, it is not about me anymore, today it is about doing God's will,

trying to show kindnesses, sharing the love, being patient and tolerant,

trying to be the person God wants me to be and that is best done

by me staying out of His way.

My wife took this photo of me a couple of days ago because, she said,

the FaceBook avatar was six months old and it was not that good anyway.

Life moves on.

Today, it is not the picture that is worth a thousand words,

it is the story in my heart that my Higher Power wants me to share

that has a thousand words.

One blog post at a time, every day for the past two years,

enough inspiration from my Higher Power to be able to share

my experience strength and hope, my faith and the love of

a Spirit of the Universe, that is in us all.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

and God said we are all beautiful in his eye.

Happiness is knowing that photos can be paintbrushed.

Michael-e..

..

Everything's OK.

Number 20
in
The Daily Challenge
from #reverb10,

December 24, 2010

Prompt: Everything's OK.

What was the best moment
that could serve as proof
that everything is going
to be alright?
And how will you
incorporate that discovery
into the year ahead?




Oh thank God for learning to live on the positive side of the light.

Every day that I awake tells me that God is good, all the time,

and if I trust in Him everything will be  O.K..

In the dark it was scary, unnerving, suspcious, gossipy, untrusting,

unknowing and deceitful, plus a few hundred other negative feelings

which all seem to jump on me at the same time.

In the light I found faith.

God said, I'm O.K., you're O.K.,

and we must pray for the rest of the world.

Into life a little darkness must fall, but it will be O.K.,

as long as you know how to turn the light back on.

And for those naysayers who keep trying to turn off your light,

carry a candle in you pocket for such emergencies.

Go to only those concerts where everyone will have their own

Bic to flick.

Do only those things which are in the light of kindness and love.

Live in today and make sure the light is on.

Tomorrow, have faith and know that, God willing and the creek

don't rise, the light will always be with you.

Laugh, love, dance, sing and let all the worrying up to God.

Happiness is knowing that God said you're O.K.

Michael_e




..

No Name.

Number 19
in
The Daily Challenge
from #reverb10,

December 23, 2010




Prompt: New name.
Let's meet again, for the first time.
If you could introduce yourself to
strangers by another name
for just one day,
what would it be and why?



"What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

~ William Shakespeare


People do not remember names, they remember personalities.

Should I be fortunate enough to be reintroduced to a stranger
I would hope that my bubbly, energetic, happy, and positive
personality would be the same bundle of joy they met
the first time around.

I do not need a name, I just need to be me.

Call me anything you like, just don't call me late for lunch,
dinner, breakfast, trea, or cake, just call me something nice.

Better yet, if you want to call me anything,  just call me a friend.

Happiness is having a personality no one wants to forget.

Michael_e

Travel.

Number 18
in
The Daily Challenge
from #reverb10,

December 22, 2010


 Prompt: Travel.
How did you travel in 2010?
How and/or where would you like
to travel next year?


Body, mind and spirit I travel every day, learning and growing,
having more fun than aught to be legal.
Here at the computer, around the block, across the county, all over the state
or around the country, my attitude assures that the journey is going to be fun.
Auto or plane where the choices for 2010 and fortunately there were no
mishaps or war stories to relate.

For 2011, a June trip from Florida back to the home town is in the planning stage,
a Chief Logan H.S., class of 1961, reunion is the Lewistown, PA.destination.

How we will travel depends on the resources, I'll walk if I have to.

Happiness is traveling light..

Michael_e

Future Self

Number 17
in
The Daily Challenge
from #reverb10,

December 21, 2010

Prompt: Future self.

Imagine yourself five years from now.
What advice would you give your
current self for the year ahead?
(Bonus: Write a note to yourself
10 years ago. What would you tell
your younger self?)


Keep on keeping on..
I am God blessed to be as old as I am, because God knows that I
should be dead.
People,  places and things; whom I associated with, venturing to
the wrong side of the tracks, the physical abuse (Drinking and Drugging),
put me in harms way on too many occasions and only by the grace of God
am I alive and able to tell my story today.
I have faith that my Higher Power wants me to carry the message of recovery,
one day at a time.
The e-electronic age has given me a platform where I can spread my
experience strength and hope to others and God's glory to be praised that
I am living at the best time in man's history.

It can only get better.

The future self will "keep on keeping on,"
a phrase first coind by the Reverend Robert H. Schuller,
"Any fool can count the seeds in an apple.
Only God can count all the apples in one seed.",
and today I wish not to be the fool.

Bonus: The note to the me of ten years ago was a perfect outline
            of what God has allowed me to do, today.
Hugs and Love...

Michael_e

Beyond Avoidance

Number 16
in
The Daily challenge
from #reverb10,
December 20, 2010

Prompt: Beyond avoidance.

What should you have done
this year but didn't because
you were too scared,
worried, unsure, busy or
otherwise deterred from doing?

(Bonus: Will you do it?)



Under the disguiese of priorities there were many things

left undone, not just last year, but in many a year prior to this.

How important is that job.

How important is that relationship.

How important is it to have fun,

when doing the important things,

like telling family how much you love them,

like not forgetting to keep a promise,

like showing up....body, mind and soul...

Selfish, self-centered, lazy, fear of ailure, fear of rejection,

and a myriad of excuses are made to avoid responsibility.

This year, I was a little better at priortizing the important.

If no one has told you today, I love you and so does God.

If no one has told you today, you are important.

Today, I will not make a promise that may be iffy.

Today I will seek balance in my life and if the job,

the relationship, the fun does not include the important people

in my life, I will rearrnge the priorities, not the importance.

Will I do it, no promises...

Happiness is a day lived well.

Michael_e

Healing

Number 15
in The Daily challenge
from #reverb10,
December 19, 2010

Prompt: Healing.

What healed you this year?
Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution?
How would you like to be healed in 2011?




Faith.

To heal you must first be sick, and boy was I ever sick,
for almost fifty years I was very sick and I had no clue.

Lying, cheating and stealing, hiding from reality with mood altering stimuli,
denial and inappropriate justifications and it was always someone else's fault.

God did for me what I could not do for myself.

Baby steps, the healing started with a willingness to recognize the sickness,
faith that a plan to identify and change the sickness might work and finally,
action to change the things I could.

"Faith is much better than belief.
Belief is when someone else does the thinking."    ~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Faith, that if I continue to help others, I will continue to heal myself.

Happiness is having the faith to know that God will heal all wounds.

Michael_e..




..

Try

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Try

Number 14in
The Daily challenge from
#reverb10,
December 18, 2010 


Prompt: Try.

What do you want to try next year?
Is there something you wanted to try in 2010?
What happened when you did / didn't go for it?




What I need to really try hard to do is to remember what day it is.

I missed this prompt yesterday, had the time, just lost the mind,

so I get to pontificate twice today and hopefully make sense once.

There was a time when I would say that I'll try anything once, thankfully

I gave up that thought many years ago and now I'll only try anything that

will promise me a significat return on feeling good.

Being kind is a good thing to try.

Sharing unconditional love is a good thing to try.

Patience and tolerance do not need a try, they require an I Do.

God will give you the chance, today, try to do your best to make the right choice.

Today, try to be the person God wants you to be.

Hugs and Love

Michael_e

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-am-what-i-am.html

http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

Just a coincidence that my blog yesterday was TRY...

Lesson learned

Number 13
in The Daily challenge from #reverb10,
December 17, 2010       

Prompt: Lesson learned.
What was the best thing you learned
about yourself this past year?
And how will you apply that lesson
going forward?


The best thing I relearned this past year

is that I am never too old to learn.

I also learned that the older one gets,

the more one should not depend on

tomorrow to get around to it.

'Round-to-its are rarely ever accomplished.

Learn to stay in the moment, be happy now, do not set

expectations of happiness on prposed events that may

or may not occur.

Whazzzz happening???

"You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late."   
 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most importantly, learn that it is better to do it now than
to make yourself believe that you will get around to it.

"Hitch your happiness to things no one can take away.
Do something you love that requires nothing but your heart.
Let your joy arise from within."   ~    Buddha   

Today, expect to learn from every lesson, good, bad or indifferent.

 Happiness is never having to say "I Know".

Michael_e                                    

Friendship.

Number 12
in The Daily challenge from #reverb10,
December 16, 2010                                      

Prompt: Friendship.

How has a friend changed you
or your perspective
on the world this year?
Was this change gradual,
or a sudden burst?







The philosopher says, every day is a change, instigated by God or self.
The changes introduced by family and friends or the total stranger,
are just God messages in disguise.

Being happy every day does not mean that you do not see the changes,
that you are ignoring the changes or that you are refusing to change,
what it means is that you understand God's world is synonymous with change
and you are willing to accept God's world as He wants it to be,
not as you want it to be and you have found  the pathway to happy, joyous
and free.
Free is to be free from guilt and shame for having chosen to do the wrong thing.
If you think you have chosen to do the next right thing and it turns
out to be wrong, do not feel shameful or guilty, just have faith,
God has already forgiven you.

AHA, just hang in there, God will give you the message over and over,
until it finally sinks in that you need to change.

If three people tell you the same thing,
you may have already missed the opportunity twice.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. (Other people)

The courage to change the things I can. (Me and my attitude)

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Smart people learn from their own mistakes,
Wise people learn from the mistakes of others.

Short version of the Prayer for Serenity, Reinhold Niebuhr

To have a friend, be a friend.

Hugs and Love,

Michael_e

http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

5 minutes

                                                                       

Number 11 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 15, 2010                                                                                                                                                                                                          Prompt: 5minutes.                                         Imagine you will completely lose your  memory of 2010 in five minutes.                                                                Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.                                 

What a beautiful year..2010...,

“If we look at the world with a love of life,
the world will reveal its beauty to us.” ~Daisaku Ikeda

nothing to note as a milestone in my life, nothing that I would wish not to remember.

God is good, always.

Or is it because I am reaching the age whwere I just can't remember.

Similar to selective hearing, I am learning that selective memory can be a boon

to serenity and peace of mind.

Faith, as my body grows nearer to the expected terminus, and the the mind begins

to dim with age, the soul is finding a larger and more prominant place in my life

and the joys of enjoying the moment become more important than the memories.

"Faith is much better than belief.

Belief is when someone else does the thinking."R. Buckminster Fuller  

Today is the day to say "Thank You God," and we will not regret the past,

nor shall we worry about the future.

Enjoy the five minutes, look for the beauty.

Happiness is seeing the beauty in all of God's creation.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Michael_e



Appreciate.

Number  10 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 14, 2010

Prompt: Appreciate.
What's the one thing you have come to

appreciate most in the past year?
How do you express gratitude for it?




The joys of growing older,

every day is to be appreciated,

every sense that still works is

greatly appreciated,

every memory

is a celebration of life,

and the thing to be appreciated the most is just being a part of God's world.


I express my gratitude and appreciation for being a part of God's world
by writing every day. Writing nice things, thoughts given to me by family,
friends,aquaintances and even sometimes the total stranger.
There are two sides to every coin. God's world is life and death, yin and yang,
good and evil, dark and light, chocolate and vinalla and I have learned
to appreciate all that exist in the Great Creators Universe and I seek
to keep a balance in my life.Today I hang with the winners, go to only nice
places and I no longer worry about the quantity, size or quality of my toys.

Today and every day I begin my day with "Thank You God," for giving me
this morning, and I end every day with an appreciative, "Thank You God,"
for allowing me to enjoy this day in Your world.

People, places and things...many have come and most are gone,
in God's time, not mine.

Today I appreciate that my Higher Power gives me the chance
to live every day to the fullest and I show my appreciation
by choosing to do the next right thing, one day at a time.

Happiness is being appreciative of the chances God has given us.

Michael_e

Action

Number  9 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 13, 2010


Prompt: Action.
When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas.
It's about making ideas happen.
What's your next step?

Reach out for help.

Keep praying..

Do the footwork.

Have faith,

be kind,

be loving,

be patient,

be tolerant,

be the person God wants me (you) to be.

I aspire to be a puiblished author.

I am an accomplished writer, having written and posted
every day for the past two years.

What actions I need to take are the ones I believe I am
currently doing, keep asking people to read what I write,
ask everyone to please give me feedback, and mention
that I would like to get these words compiled into a book that can
reach many people and possibly inspire them to be a better person.

If I could make a buck three eighty along the way by selling a book
or two, my wife would be greatly appreciative.

I am not adverse to becoming a ghost writer, just need to find a client.

2011, I am still waiting for my Higher Power to give me some inspiration
so that I might have a new format, a new theme, or if the idea does not
come, just do what I have always done and keep asking for directions.

Happiness is writing, because my writing inspires me...

Michael_e

Body integration.

Number 8 in The Daily challenge
from #reverb10,

December 12, 2010


Prompt: Body integration.
This year, when did you feel the most
integrated with your body?
Did you have a moment where there
wasn't mind and body, but simply
a cohesive YOU, alive and present?





Body, mind and soul, a morning meditation starts with a Thank You, God,
for giving me today and ends with, " where am I and where do You want me to go?".

My cohesive me can and is usually sent slightly off center as life closes in around me.
The honey do list of the significant other, the request of friends who are reaching out for help
and the occasional requirements of being a  responsible citizen will be cause to wander.

The demands of the significant other are usually nothing more than doing what is best
to make our lives together more enjoyable, body, mind and soul.
The friends are friends because there are no expectations and no demands because
by helping each other, we help God's world grow in love, body, mind and soul.
God teaches me kindness, love, patience and tolerance as I stand in line to register the auto,
as I stand in line at the store, as I do the many semi-social duties of being a responsible citizen,
body, mind and soul.

Every day is a good day, it is just that some are better than others, and when I end my day
with a Thank You God, I can put my body, mind and soul to rest peacefully.

Happiness is being  as one with God,  in a cohesive body, mind and soul.

Michael_e

11 Things

Number 7 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 11, 2010


Prompt: 11 Things.
What are 11 things your life doesn't need in 2011?
How will you go about eliminating them?
How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

As an older person who can no longer see his toes
I have been reduced to counting  up to ten, fingers only.

Of all of the things in my life that I don't need it is the belly,
sure would be nice to see my toes again, and maybe learn to count to eleven.
I weigh less now than I did at the beginning of  2010..
I guess that means I need to stick to diet, exercise more and practice a little more honesty,
all together that should help me to continue to lose the weight.

Naming nine or ten more things that my life doesn't need in 2011 is an easy
list to make, but, what I can do to eliminate that list has no or few  possibilities.

1.Bad government (politicians). I vote, however....
2, Mean people. I pray, however...
3. Taxes, registrations and fees. See number 1....
4. Bad drivers. I live in Florida where old, even older than me, people
         are driving long after their abilities have diminished, if they ever had any
         abilities to begin with. I practice patience and tolerance, sometimes....
         (Also see number 2...)
5. Handicapped parking license plates. Mental handicaps do not qualify,
        wheelchairs only need to apply...
6. Television news reporting, needs to be labeled entertainment, however...
        (This one I can eliminate, I don't turn on the TV...)
7. Athletes being paid millions upon millions while children starve..
        (This one I can eliminate, I don't patronize the professional sports or their
         sponsors and I seek out charities that I know provide real benefits.)
8. Big buck charities. If they own huge buildings, have high paid executives,
        spend big time advertising budgets, please ....remember the local little guy
        whose return on donation is not only financially beneficial, but they also know
        how to share the love....
9. Government spending of unaccountable billions of dollars in foreign aid,
        while our own country is falling apart. Money being given to bad governments,
        crooked politicians,welfare states that hate Americans...charity begins at home,
        i.e.. Louisiana is still in need of infrastructure assistance, Detroit is dying and
        Philadelphia has a whole lost generation of young children, crack cocaine babies,
        that will forever be a burden on the jails, the police, the courts and the welfare
        institutions. The cost to provide safety and security could  economically  destroy that city.

10.  Enough is enough...
        Think positive...God has given me more than enough...time to get out my gratitude list
        and think of all the wonderful gifts I have received, many, many more than 11...

      May your life be blessed in 2011and may God take away those things that He knows
       you do not need, and may you learn to be more thankful for what you do have.
     
       Be  kind, be loving, be patient and tolerant, be the person your dog thinks you are,
       the person God wants you to be.

Michael_e

Wisdom

Number 6 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 10, 2010

Prompt: Wisdom.
What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

A smart person learns from their own mistakes,
a wise person learns from the mistakes of others.

For the past few years I have made the same wise decision and the results have been fantastic...

go with the flow..

In God'e time..

Compromise is not capitulating.

Balance is being able to see both sides of the coin and not allowing you life
to be dictated by the flip of the coin, but rather having a choice as to how
the coin should be placed on the table.

Heads I win, Tails you lose...

Today, know that God answers all good prayers, and that good prayers
are from the heart and they are designed to make this a better world for all.

Wisdom is not a conferred degree for an institution of higher learning,
it is an intuitive feeling that one receives when you are on good spiritual grounds.

Sometimes you have it and when you think that you are humble, you are spiritual,
or you are wise, your are not..Thinking of self is egotistical and the egotist is neither
humble, spiritual or wise.

Body mind and soul, thinking should be limited to doing the will of a loving Higher Power.

Happiness is not thinking too hard,
and just being conscious of which way the flow is going.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Michael_e

Party

Number 5 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 9, 2010

Prompt: Party.
What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010?
Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

The joys of growing older...every day is a party...

Two people talking is now a social gathering for me, and today, I make it
a point to drag myself way from the computer and go outside of the house
and find someone to interact with, someone who will call me on my ego
if I get too big for my britches or I slightly exaggerate the truth a little.
Left alone at the computer my mind often wonders towards grandiosity.

Today, and every day, all of my social gatherings are really happy
moments shared with people that are friends of my choice,
people that are positive,happy, joyous and free..
(retired: Thank God; I no longer have to tolerate the office bore,
the general public, the obnoxious salesmen, the government red tape
or  the rageaholic on the daily commute.)

Drama queens or priggy princes need not come to my party.

I have described the people, for the rest:
the music is anything but gangster rap,
thank God, the food is still anything that is not fattening,
the drinks are non alcoholic and for the past seventeen years
it has been a great feeling to awake in the morning knowing who
is going to be in the bed with me, where my car is parked, knowing that
the money in the wallet is still there,and I do not need to check the Sheriffs
web site to see if there are any warrants out for my arrest.

Retired to Florida so the clothing is shorts and tees
and I no longer wear socks.

Today, no shenanigans and I no longer tell jokes, the old self defense
mechanism that the ego used to make me feel better about myself.
Ethnic, racial, gender or blonde, the jokes were used to lift my
self-esteem by denegrating others.
Today, the jokes on me and the party never ends.

Happiness is being the life of the party, sober.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves...

http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/

Michael_e

Beautifully Different

Number 4 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10, December 8, 2010

Prompt: Beautifully different.
Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up.
Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

As an old, on Social Security, man who was never that much to look at, being different,
being myself was the key to having a beautiful heart.

As a younger person I tried to keep up with the Joneses, I wanted to fit in.
I was sociable and did whatever the crowd was doing, but the selfish and the self centered
crawled into their caves and their closets and found families, work, religion, and other fraternal
and social groups to join that ascribed to their lifestyle.
Me, I found myself sitting at the local watering hole,  evaluating and judging
those who now scorned me.

The kindred spirits of the backward brain saved me from myself.

I was fortunate to find a number of addictive personalities who had found a way to
extricate themselves for the clutches of their disease and with the help of  a
Higher Power, to have themselves restored to sane thinking.

I'm O.K., you'r O.K., it is the rest of the world that makes us wonder,
what is sane???

Today, when somone ask, "How is it going?", I respond with,
" it is going, in spite of me."
Today, I no longer aspire to keep up, and if I ever did catch
up to "it", I probably would not know what to do with "it" anyways. .

Today, I smile, I listen, I nod my head, I am thankful to be who I am.

My God does not make any junk.

Everything is beautiful, there is balance in my life.
There are some days that are better than others, but today I am thankful
for every beautiful day given to me by The Spirit of the Universe,
The Great Creator.

Today, my beauty is just the reflection of my faith in a world that is
beyond my comprehension, beyond what words can describe,
beyond being beautiful..

The real beauty is , Thank You God, that we are all different.

Happiness is just being another star in God's Universe.

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/

Community

Number 3 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10

December 7 – Prompt: Community.

Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010?

What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

(Author: Cali Harris)

Keeping is simple: online; Facebook is still there, Twitter died, and many blogs came and went.

Otherwise, my wife drug me off to a church. A small non-denominational community of addictive
(sick) personalities who are desperately seeking to fit in somewhere.

I did spend some time online this year following some well know religious/philsophical people,
only to learn nothing that I had not already learned and that the most important thing for these
self appointed gurus was not the message but the marketing, i.e./ ego and money.

My community continues to be me and my Higher Power, whom I call God.

I have discovered a philosophy that keeps me motivated, share the love.

For next year I will continue to wait and  have the community  seek me out.
If thay want what I have, if they want to hear my experience, strength and hope,
I will gladly share as I have done so in my daily blogs for the past two years.


http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

http://asadrunkseesit.blogspot.com/

Make

Number 2 in The Daily challenge from #reverb10

Make.
What was the last thing you made?
What materials did you use?
Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?
(Author: Gretchen Rubin)

I made a mess.

I made some people mad.

(Actually, I just upset their routine, they were already  insane.)

I made a few changes in God's world.

Most importantly, although it took almost

60 years, I learned to make myself happy,

the messes and the others will just have to

find their own balance in life.

The last thing I physically made was a Christmas decoration for the front door, using empty boxes,
covered only on the front and sides to conserve paper, a ribbon, not just for looks but to tie the
decoration to the chair to keep it from blowing away, added a tree, a wreath made by the Boss,
the cat is optional, and the spirit shines at night when we turn on the spot light.

Happiness is sharing the spirit.

Happiness is helpingsomeone help themselves.

http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/

Let Go

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

A friend of a friend and a new blog aquaintance introduced me to a site that is a challenge to write a daily blog in response to prompts that will question my review of 2010 and pose questions as to what do I expect from 2011.

I missed the first four prompts and I really do not care to catch up,
I'll just stay in today and attempt to keep my mind open for the next 26 days.

December 5 – Let Go.

http://www.reverb10.com/

What (or whom) did you let go of this year?

Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

Letting go has been a learning process that I have experienced
over the last seventeen years, since the day of my last alcoholic drink.
Prior to that April in 1993 I suffocated everything that I could claim as
my own.
There was nothing that I ever let go of that did not have scratch marks all over it.
Grieving was a word that was not in my vocabulary, grieving was for little old widows dressed in black.
The first learning experience was to admit that I was powerless, that there was a God, a Higher Power,
a Devine Creator, a Spirit of the Universe and it was not me.
The next learning experience was to learn to accept.
When God says that he is ready to move on, be ready to move on.
Relationships, jobs, toys, people, places and things have come and gone throughout the years and I
taken the time to evaluate each experience, look for the positive, and smile for God having given me
the chance to be a part of His world.
Not in early sobriety, no never, but eventually, I came to accept that it was not God's fault, it was not anyone's fault, and it was not even my fault, it was life.
Today, I try to do the next right thing in service to self, others and my Higher Power, whom I choose
to call God.
For the year 2010 I have continued to let go and let God, knowing that the body lives in the moment,
but my soul, the spirits of the past and those of the future will enjoy eternal peace when God says
it is time to move on.
Michael_e

http://meandtheboss-2010.blogspot.com/