What's Worth Knowing

I got this book... recently, "What's Worth Knowing" ~ it's a collection of wisdoms. [If you like quotes, you'll like this book ~ as do I ~ they're quotes from everyday people, some quite elderly ~ which I think is a bonus!] Maybe worth a looksie at your local library? Anywho... the contents sections: On Living Well, On People, On Time, On Spirituality, On Marriage, On Being Blue, On Work, On Illness and Frailty, On Good Conduct, On Regret, On Later Life....

2 came to mind for me today. Here they are for you... but first... I must pray: O. Dear lord of plagiarism, I'd like to apologize... and please note that I AM giving credit to that nice woman, Wendy Lustbader, who actually did the work and wrote the book...! Forgive my trespassing ways and please reveal a mystery or two, you know how much I like that! Amen!

On Time ~
"Knowing you're going to die -- that's what really gets you moving," realized Arsene St. Amand, Age 48, who was prompted to find true love at last, six months before his death... You can go through a whole lot of years wasting time. You can go down lots of wrong roads. you say, 'Hey, I'll take care of that next year." You're too busy showing everyone how much you've got it together. Then - boom - there isn't much time left. Most people find out about love when they're young, but I didn't. I thought I could do without it. But as soon as the doctor said, "You've got nine months," that was it. I was done fooling around. I decided -- before I die, I'm going to learn how to love." [Author's note: Arsene grew up on the streets of New Orleans and went to school only until third grade. He never learned how to write, but in the last year of his life he dictated many letters to those he wanted to thank for having helped him earlier on. Arsene died at the age of 48 of lung cancer, shortly after marrying Rose, the love of his life. Dying young, he felt, had made him old inside and wiser than his years.]

On Regret ~
and then there is this story about regret from 'Matilda Johansen', Age 101 who said, "Here I am, an old woman already. I always thought I had a book inside me. Every year I told myself, 'Next year you'll write your book." The years came and went. It always seemed like next year I'd start in on it, but I never did - and I've had a whole century. If you have a book inside you, sit down and get it written. It's not a matter of having the time. If you want to do something badly enough, you do it. You set other things aside and you make it a priority. You stop giving your life away to obligations. Now my hands are twisted up with arthritis and I can't see beyond the end of my nose. See? I have the time, but now I can't do it. ~[Wendy Lustbader, the author, cited 'Matilda's story' as her inspiration for the book in which it appears. Wendy said, "Matilda's story of her own unwritten book ran through me like an electric current. From then on, she asked me each week what progress I'd made, and I never disappointed her."]

OKAY. I can hardly stand it. I just gotta fish out one more for you... this one is:

On Later Life~
"Growing older makes you more certain about what's meaningful." ~ Carter Catlett Williams, Age 76. "Until my husband was nearing retirement, I did whatever I could to support his work. Everyone liked my food and our hospitality, but I generally kept quiet while the scientists discussed matters important to them. I knew I saw things they didn't see, but I seldom spoke up. I had no confidence that my perceptions were of value to others. Then, when I was in my mid-sixties, I started to venture forth with my observations and raise questions few people were asking. By that time, it didn't matter to me whether others agreed with me, only that I speak the truth as I saw it. At long last, I knew I had something to say -- or rather, I knew there were things that needed to be said and I had to join the few who were saying them. " ~[in the 1980s Carter Catlett Williams became a national leader in the effort to stop the practice of restraining nursing home residents by tying them to chairs or binding their bodies to beds and side rails. She spoke up on behalf of people who were unable to command the attention of lawmakers and regulators, until restraint-free care became the law of the land. Lack of confidence, which had restrained Carter since she had come of age, finally receded as she found her voice in later life.]

Confession?

This is a year of really hard work for me ~ this is a year in which I will follow my heart and unfold some dormant talents... and work on being the best, well balanced, 'Dorko' I can be! And I am not surprised to see many of you feeling the same way....['K, maybe you're not all so keen on the well balanced 'Dorko' part of it! LOL!] ~ so much heart, and passion, and talent out there on the Blogosphere, so many of you taking stock in yourselves and making those leaps of faith! And O, those voices of yours! "I will go..." "I will do..." Honest and brave! Bravo!... You amaze me!
This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine... Love & Cheerios 2U all!