Come Let’s Stroll

“Come let’s stroll” is the title of a song from somewhere around the 1950’s, so my happy self seriously doubts if any of you younger folks will remember it…but am very sure most of us “elders” do. The 50’s were the years when songs were sung by folks who could actually sing, teenagers could really dance, and automobiles were real cars. Plus, we could walk most of the street without worrying about some two-legged creepy thing bothering us.

Ever as I page through those misty pages of my memories, it seems like the places I worked were at a much slower pace than what I perceive today. Perhaps it was because I was young? As the years passed, Father Time took away my hair, along with my teenage body, and I could no longer move at my previous pace…but hopefully, I became a little wiser. So I planted my slower, but still happy self on Anna Marie Island in Florida, especially in the evenings and many nights. Even the police got tired of running me off, and eventually just waved as they went by.

Mentally, I beamed aboard my starship “Imagination”, and engaged the engine at warp 50 (fast isn’t she?). Soon I would be at “station keeping” light years above the galactic core of our galaxy…I was in my personal “fortress of solitude.” One of the hundreds of questions I asked was: “Is it important that I must always be in a hurry?” Then my brain took it one step further --- “What is important?”

Naturally, taking care of the basic for ourselves and our families are the most important thing there are. But what other things in life are important to help us keep our sanity, and let us more or less just stroll through life? Well, yours truly has listed some suggestions here for you to consider.

One of the best for me is intelligent conversation with family and friends. Some more are a positive attitude, reading good books, swinging on a swing, listening to our children with our hearts, walks with loved ones on a warm summer night looking for fireflies, sometimes walking alone, boat rides, good movies, and of course lots of hugs. If we happen to live near a mountain, how about walking as close to the top as we can, and let our eyes inhale the beauty below? Another one I believe is really wonderful, is taking your mate to the closest body of water, and dancing in the moonlight. Naturally, another nice one is walking barefoot in the mud on a warm day.

How about, on a moonless, and cloudless night, gazing at the stars above us, and just letting our imagination go where it wishes? And there is always discovering that we can learn how to play a musical instrument, write poems, and learn new songs. Another one of my favorite things to do is, during a raging thunder storm, watch the lightning as it streaks across the sky, and wonder at the awesome power of nature. A friend of mine, years ago, talked me into writing about myself, and what I wanted to do in my future --- and it wasn’t long before my imagination took over, and I discovered that there were an enormous of things I wished to accomplish, and best of all, I soon began realizing that I could really do them if I planned them out.

Some things encourage us to just plain relax, even if we don’t thank about anything at all, such as: watching clouds float by, taking a warm shower, admiring all of the different designs of snowflakes in the winter, just lying on a beach, meditating, or enjoying some good music.

If we are in a thankful mood, how about thanking your children, thank a police officer, thank a fireman, or fire woman (political correctness), thanking a friend for just being a friend, thanking a neighbor, thanking your loved one, thanking someone in the military, thanking anyone who has done you a favor, and maybe thanking ourselves for all the things we went through for others.

Realizing that the pettiness, insults, and rudeness of others mean absolutely nothing, because it is their problem, not ours. And realizing that when things go wrong, that we don’t always have to go with them. And knowing that if we wish, we can perceive “work” as “play”, and suddenly it is just a game. When we are listening to others, we should not only listen with our ears, but with our hearts. And realizing that the opinions of others do not have to become our reality. When things appear very complicated, that we only need to know what applies to us. That many of the problems we encounter in our every day lives, are really opportunities. And that we can make ourselves miserable or happy, because the amount of work is usually the same.

All of the above, and of course, thousands more, can make us realize that we life is not about being in a hurry --- it is mostly about caring about ourselves, our loved ones, and trying to find a little happiness each day.

There are a few things I try to remember each day, and one of them is that there are always possibilities. Others are that I do not wish to complicate my life today, keep a good attitude, give myself as little trouble as possible, and that no matter what happens, I am going to stroll through life as slow as I can. Imagine what you will discover next!