The Rules As I Know Them

I really must appologize for taking so long to make a new entry. The recovery process takes time and sometimes I find I dont have the energy to do everything I would like. Its getting much better however and I am happy to say I should be ready and able to make regular contributions again YAY!

So what to talk about today. Well, I think I am going to focus on the biggest thing I have learned in life thus far. I call them the 3 L's of my life. Let me explain...

I have learned that in order to make a life, one has to Live. Thats the first L. Live! I dont mean going about your day to day doing the same old thing. I mean really live. Splash in a puddle, skydive, pick up a bottle of wine at the LCBO that you have never tried before or do what I did on Saturday and go to a club with someone you love and play Lotto 649...which is what you do when you walk up to the bar and ask the bartender to pour you a drink using the 6th, 4th, and 9th bottle on the shelf. If you think you have done it all, you need to do that. I guess the point is, break out of your routine and stretch your legs, live a little and do something out of the ordinary. If you do this just once a week, you can have 52 days in the year in which you have really lived. I learned this lesson when someone told me, "Derry, its not that life is too short....its just that your dead for so long!". How true is that, life is not short folks, death is just very long. Now go LIVE!

The second thing I have learned is that one must Love! Thats right, Love someone or something so deeply, so passionately, that it becomes a part of your life. To go through life not having loved would be like going through a chocolate factory and never taking a bite. The danger in loving is that sometimes we lose what we love, but if you live in fear of losing what you love, then you never really live and we all know what happens when you dont live...simply see my note above! It has been said that "It is better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all". I agree and I think if you dont love someone or something deeply, you are letting a key component of life pass you by. Now, hopefully it is a someone that you love but if not, if thats just not in the cards for you, then find SOMETHING to love. Most importantly, never close the door on your options. Love happens when you least expect it. I never would have dreamed I would walk into a shelter, meet a GUY!!! and end up falling in love.

Lastly, I have learned that when everything looks like its at its darkest, that is when you need to Laugh! Its true...the worst thing to do when everything is going wrong is to dwell on it. Laugh instead...it takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown so why frown? I have learned through my own dark hours that sometimes the best thing to do is simply laugh. When you look up and see rock bottom, you know its time to laugh. The other option is to cry and one can only do that for so long, take my word on that. After the tears have been shed, after the anger over "why me" gives way, sometimes all you can do is laugh. How many times has something happened and we say to the person beside us, "One day, down the road, we are going to laugh about this". I say, WHY WAIT???? Laugh now, and laugh till you cry. Why dwell on the negative and wait to laugh later. Laugh right here right now. Heck, stop reading this and let out a deep belly shaking laugh and tell me you dont feel 100 times better, maybe a zillion times better.

As you can see, I have learned that the three keys to happyness are to Live, Love, and Laugh. When you can do all three, and do them well, your quality of life improves dramatically. My challenge to you today is to practice the three L's and then go out and teach just one person the same rules. If we all do this, what a wonderful world it could be!

LiveSTRONG!