Sitting by a warm fire in a comfy chair....

   Sitting comfortably in an overstuffed chair next to a roaring pellet stove with my computer in my lap, thus the name 'laptop' I would assume, I am surfing the web, checking up on the latest news, sports scores and other somewhat meaningless pieces of information.

  A very quiet “ding” tells me that someone has just sent me an email or posted something to my Facebook page. Most of the time the instant communication we now have with others, with the world, allows us to react and respond at our own pace, in our own time. Should I look now or wait until later? What if it's something important? What would I have done twenty years ago before computers or email. I think I'll wait and look a bit later.

While on my 'surfing expedition', I found several pages of 'best life quotes” and sayings, not necessarily by famous people, many from just ordinary, common folks like you and me.

As I scrolled down through the list I found some to entertaining, humorous, serious and the…."I could have said that" type. Here are several examples:

“Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go,
be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and
one chance to do all the things you want to do.” (anonymous)

Someone looking for ideas for a New Year's resolution may want to consider this one. "Dream what you want to be..." But for many of us, there are times when it difficult to take that first step. We are afraid to fail.

"Don't be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” (anonymous)

Society has done a great job of creating a cultural belief that 'failure' is a bad thing or that winning is all that really matters. A failing grade on a report card often results in restriction to the use of the television, or taking away the cell phone or shutting down the Facebook page, with the intent of teaching a lesson, to work harder. But the result is often an increased fear in trying something new, taking on a new challenge for fear of failure.

    If Christopher Columbus had been afraid of sailing across the ocean because of a fear of failure, of not keeping his promise to the find new sailing routes to the Far East, how many more years might it have taken before the discovery of a new part of the world.(Speaking of Columbus, aren't there some Columbus Day Sales coming up soon.)

   One of my favorite 'life quotes' has to do with open and closed doors.

   “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.” (Alexander Graham Bell)
   
   Personally, I have had my share of doors closed in front of me, most recently in my attempt to get people to take part in a health study survey sponsored by one of the government agencies in Washington D.C. In some cases, I was also told to get off the porch and never come back again.

   Now, I add that as a bit of humor, but  in reality how often have had what we thought was going to be a 'golden opportunity' placed before us, only to have it swiftly taken away and we spent too much time focusing on the closed door, what we thought we lost, we didn't see the new one open  right next to it.

   (I find it interesting this quote credited to Alexander Graham Bell, focusing on open and closed doors and not the possibility of cell phone in the future. But back then, who knew.)

   One of the all time 'sages' of life lessons was Dr. Seuss and without a doubt his wisdom and perspective on the world is missed. One of my favorites …....

   “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” (Dr Seuss)

   …...may have more meaning today that it did years ago. How many of us pretend to be someone we are not for the sake of trying to impress others? Now if you are trying to get a date with an attractive young lady or handsome young man, that's one thing. But what politician or leader has not said things, made statements, to get the vote, when in reality it is not really what they meant to say or reflect upon who they really are as a person? At what cost are they willing to sell their soul to the devil?

   As I get older, I hope I get wiser, learn from previous mistake, but always knowing I may make new ones. Making mistakes is often how we learn. But it is way to easy to get stuck in the past, reliving the memories, both the good ones and the bad.

   “I've learned that things change, people change, and it doesn't mean you forget the past or try to cover it up. It simply means that you move on and treasure the memories. Letting go doesn't mean giving up... it means accepting that some things weren't meant to be." (Lisa Brooks)

   But the time has come to add a bit of humor and lightheartedness so, from an unknown source, I close with the following thoughts about success...............

“At age 4 success is not peeing in your pant
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is having a drivers license.
At age 20 success is having sex.
At age 35 success is having money.
At age 50 success is having money.
At age 60 success is having sex.
At age 70 success is having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is having friends.
At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants!” 

                                   

                     
For a complete listing of  thousands of  "life sayings and thoughts", you can visit the Best Life Quotes website.