My Manifesto and Musings May 13, 2008

Use the good china.   Every day this side of the grass is a special occasion, so celebrate!

Tell people how they’ve made a difference in your life.  One never knows when life will come to a close; take advantage now of all your opportunities.  

Take time each day to be thankful.

Make a difference:  Be inspired and inspiring to others.

Learn about yourself… grow and evolve.  Remove yourself from the comfort zone.

Be inclusive, not exclusive.

Listen to uplifting music and watch movies with positive stories (Pay it Forward, Peaceful Warrior, The Ultimate Gift are a few).  Feed your mind as carefully as you would feed your physical body.   Well, maybe allow some popcorn for those movies.

Make a list of things you want to do and make plans to do them in this lifetime… because if you reincarnate as a cow, that won’t be very condusive to sitting in a Venice concert hall enjoying Vivaldi (whew, glad I checked that one off my list in 2005)!    I actually had this list long before The Bucket List was released to movie theatres, but that’s another good flick.

Have a sense of humour and don’t take yourself too seriously.  Be goofy some of the time.

Choose wisely the times to be goofy; and if not, the good news is you will perfect the motion of “open mouth, insert foot.”

Know your limitations and embrace them… they are a part of YOU!

Love fully.  Holding back results in your receiving only as much as you give.  You want it all, don’t you?

Remove “can’t afford” from your vocabulary.  It speaks of lack and poverty, which begets more of the same.  Be financially responsible and choose where and when to invest your money and time.

Protect your time.  Others will spend it easily if you allow them.

Choose wisely who you spend your time with… I recommend energy uplifters, not energy suckers.

Welcome Change!  It’s the only true constant.

Save  yourself the heartache - you can’t outrun the Truth, so don’t even try (I’ll have a story for you on this another time).

When travelling, do your best to speak the local language, even if it’s just a greeting or please and thank you.  Hello, Goodbye, Aufwiedersein, Adieu… I draw the line at wearing leiderhosen though.  It might look great while in Austria, but back home in Canada you’ll get some looks.  (Apologies to the Germanic languages for any misspellings.)

Now and then, put your face up to the sun, close your eyes and soak in the warmth and life-giving energy.

Always see the bright side.

Wear sunglasses if it gets blinding, there’s a reason common sense is a highly-sought-after quality. 

Be willing to take responsibility for everything in your life experience.

Apologize when necessary and be the one to take the first step to forgive. 

Respect everyone equally, and remember to include yourself in there, too.

Bless those who challenge you for there is learning in every encounter.

Handwritten notes and cards are always in style.   Failing that, video email  is a lot of fun and more personal than text email!

Embrace technology. And when it frustrates you, think of typewriters.  How did we ever run this world without computers?!

Don’t burn the candle at both ends, get plenty of rest.  So on that note… I bid you goodnight.

I’d love to hear your additions to my manifesto.  It really could be endless.