50+ Lifestyles

Bits of Wisdom

By Mary Schricker Gemberling

“Be Happy for this moment;
this moment is your life”………Omar Khayam

I have for years felt that, “Age is but a number”; “You are only as old as you feel” and “Age is something that doesn’t matter….unless you are a cheese”! 

But 2022 changed things; there were many days when I felt like a piece of slightly molded cheddar. With the Pandemic refusing to go away, a slipped disc followed by back surgery, supply chain issues resulting in a nearly empty condo, a depressed financial portfolio, a bout with Covid followed by Long Covid, and finally Hurricane Ian drowning my red convertible and leaving my beloved southwest Florida in ruins.

But I have learned through life’s adversity, no matter how good or bad a situation is, it will change. My back is healed; our furniture finally arrived; I survived Covid; and yesterday we bought a red convertible exactly like the one we lost. It will take a while for my financial portfolio to recover and even longer for Florida to re-build, but some changes take a bit longer. I think God must test us every once in a while to remind us of what is truly important in our lives.

This month I will celebrate my 75th birthday, and rather than face this milestone with trepidation, I am celebrating with joy! I began this article wanting to share some words of wisdom about life. But rather than ‘reinventing the wheel’ I decided that someone else had already said it better than I possibly could.

Regina Brett is an American author, inspirational speaker, and newspaper columnist. She grew up one of 11 kids in a blue collar, hard working Catholic family. After her tumultuous teenage years, she quit drinking, went back to college to earn her journalism degree and during a spiritual quest got a master’s degree in religious studies. At 40 she married the man of her dreams and at 41 was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she turned 45 she was so grateful to be alive she wrote the “45 life lessons that life taught me.”

Although I’ve not faced a life threatening disease as did Regina, I share in her joy to be alive. Enjoy the following bits of wisdom:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Beginning with your first paycheck save for retirement.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone for everything!
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give ‘time’ time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles!
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever”
………………..Mahatma Gandhi

Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist is the author of four books: The West End Kid; A Labor of Love; Hotel Blackhawk; & The History of Ebenezer United Methodist Church.