If I Had My Life To Live Over Again...

I've spent a large part of my life moving around.  Of course always for a different reason...The journey of my life began when I was born in Houston, Texas.  By the time I was five I had lived in North Louisiana and South Louisiana and back to Texas.  My mom married my step-dad and the wonderful Navy adventure began.  From Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana, and then to Virginia Beach, VA.  As an adult I left Virginia and moved to Arkansas, then I moved to Indiana, and then I landed in North Carolina.  I've traveled to the West coast and been to a ton of beautiful places, but the one thing I have always known is that I love the Ocean, I love the beach, and I love living my life in a simple way.  When I think about this trip Ive been on, as Jimmy Buffet says in "Trip Around the World",  "Im just hanging on while this old world keeps turning and its good to know its out of my control, If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living, Is that it wouldnt change a thing if I let go."  As always I ran across a writing that someone sent me years ago...

                                                       If I Had My Life To Live Over
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been done and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical,  wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy,
Id have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuousy, I would never have said, "Later, Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you's."
...But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...
live it...and never give it back.
Stop sweating the small stuff.  Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.
Instead cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.
Think about what God HAS blessed you with.
And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.
Life is too short to let it pass by....Theres only one shot and then it's gone...
(Erma Bombeck wrote this when she found out she had cancer)

Life's Little Lessons

It's okay to cry its okay to fall,
Just remember to get back up.
Its okay to cry, its okay to fall,
But remember to keep standing tall.
Don't let the world bring you down,
Don't hold on to unhappiness,
Laugh way too much,
Love every chance,
Temember that giving is better than getting
Dance in the rain,
Sleep til' noon,
And say what you mean, and mean what you say...
Hold on tight, don't let go.
Even when it hurts and you'll know,
It's okay to cry and its okay to hurt...
Just remember to get back up when you fall...

Somewhere along the way we have all felt the undertow of life.  The unresolvable feeling that the world is crashing in, that everthing around us seems to be falling apart.  No matter the reason, no matter the circumstances, everyones world has some turmoil.  So what separates those who withstand and those who give up?  There are those who lift their head and go on.  There are those that say all of my tomorrows are not worth the sorrows of my yesterdays.  There is a new sunrise tomorrow and a new sunset yet to come and I refuse to miss it....
Those who have come and gone before us, Im sure would say that wasting life on worries isn't worth the time.  This life is suprising yet complex, you never know whats around the corner..if tomorrow will come or not.. 

Sand & Stone

This story was sent to me years ago by a friend.  I ran across it today and understand it more now than ever...
     A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert.  During some point of the journey they had an arguement, and on friend slapped the other one in the face.  The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:  "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.  The one who had been slapped got stuck int he mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.  After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stome:  "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?
The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand wher winds of forgiveness can erase it away.  But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."
WE SHOULD ALL LEARN TO WRITE OUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND CARVE OUR BLESSINGS IN STONE.

Walking around with a grudge against someone that has hurt you or wronged you does not change the facts of the situation.  Sometimes understanding why events happen is the first part of forgiving.  I truly believe that we can hold a grudge for so long that eats at us mentally.  Walking away is hard, forgetting is even harder, and the hardest part of all is understanding why sometimes the ones that we are closest to and have the strongest feelings for are the ones that hurt us.  It has taken years for me to find forgiveness for many situations that have taken place in my life.  I can honestly say that with age I have grown to understand that the grudge and all of the negative feeling that I have make no impression on the person that I harbor the feelings for...I've learned to ask myself...Do you honestly think they are losing sleep over the grudge that you hold?  Caring and loving for another completely and whole heartedly is a complex thing.  What's even more complex is understand another persons' actions...