Nothing certain in life

The bathtub drain by J. Binford-Bell

It strikes me as I get older there are two paths through the minefield of life. One is to tiptoe carefully through it trying to follow the foot prints of someone who traversed it before you. And the other is to run full speed ahead while bobbing and weaving. Much of my youth I chose the latter method and survived only partly unscathed.

After my parents died I tended to take a more conservative approach. It was almost as if I had done the dare devil thing to get their attention and now I could play it safe. Let me mention right here safe did not work. And it is certainly not gratifying. I do not care what your financial adviser, life coach, minister, neighbor, friend or parent tell you there are just entirely too many variables to the future to have any control over it. So run for it. Or dance through it. Or happy hop. In the fable about the ant and the grasshopper the grasshopper had a far richer life.

I have a friend who is so sure that what he was eating was killing him he virtually eats nothing and now looks as if he is starving to death. I recently sat next to him at a dinner party and watched him just move food around his plate. But it made me think this last week of how I tiptoe through the dietary minefield media has thrust upon us. Breakfast was once bacon, eggs and toast. Now it is just eggs soft boiled. Want to guess when I was thinner? Could I be starving myself into obesity?

So with that epiphany I began to wonder if I was creating financial instability by trying to save every penny? Am I increasing my chances of falling and breaking something by walking too carefully over the earth? Am I insuring a boring future by taking no risks?

One of my younger friends died yesterday. There are no guarantees in life so while you can DANCE.

In memory of Catherine Calvert Strom
October 13, 1954 - July 25, 2013

You will be missed when I stop to take catch my breath.



Comments

  1. The Blog of BeeJuly 27, 2013 at 6:22 PM

    Brilliant piece of writing and thought provoking. I know from myself and friends of years, that I am the adventurous one. I took the risks, took the chances, paid the heavy price in some cases but when it all boils down to it, I can safely say that for the most part it was fun and exciting.

    I think your male friend is probably anorexic!

    I am so very sorry to hear that you have lost another friend especially in view of the fact that you just lost Jan's husband. Two friends in such a short space of time is not easy. I hope Catherine danced through life and arrives in heaven with a glass in one hand and a bar of chocolate in the other saying, 'it was one hell of a ride'.

    I had a shock today when I learned today via an article in a British newspaper on line that a friend of many years, has died. She more than occasionally danced through her younger life. We didn't say goodbye.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ien in the KootenaysJuly 31, 2013 at 7:29 PM

    Love this. You are so right, there is no certainty. As for the diet thing.....oh heck, I have to blog about that. I avoid bacon because I abhor the hog industry. If I could get well-raised I would eat it. Are you familiar with the works of Sally Fallon? Visit http://westonaprice.org.

    ReplyDelete

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