Happy Anniversary . . . to ME!

Anniversaries are like birthdays: occasions to celebrate and to think ahead, usually among friends with whom one shares not only the past but also the future. Zbigniew Brzezinski

Today is the one year anniversary of the beginning of a new life for me. On August 18, 2019, a Sunday morning, without any warning, a fireball of cancer came out of the universe and struck me down. There were no serious symptoms or anything that would have given me an inkling of what was to befall me and how my life would be forever changed.

I was having a normal morning. I was a bit fatigued, but that was about all. I took care of my normal, very regular routine “business.” Everything was fine. I then went for a morning walk, another part of my daily routine. I believe I got about a mile and a half in. But, when I returned to my friend's, Carolyn's, house, I felt pretty wiped out. That wasn't normal. But, I still had no idea there was anything seriously wrong.

Well, within an hour or so, I was unconscious, on the floor. The first time I had any recollection of what had happened was when I started to regain consciousness and I was on my bed. I have no idea of any details of my collapse or the actual amount of time. It might have been seconds or minutes. I'd never experienced anything like this before in my 74+ years of life. Carolyn and her grandson were hovering over me trying to help me regain consciousness and comprehend what was happening.

Chris, Carolyn's grandson, a professional EMT who just happened to be visiting his grandmother that weekend, had either seen me collapse or found me in a pile on the floor. He managed to get me back on my bed that I had fallen next to or at the foot of. Carolyn was checking my blood pressure and heart rate – which, according to clinical standards put me in the category of being dead, which is what I probably would have been if Chris hadn't found me and called for Carolyn. Carolyn started putting glucose under my tongue to get my blood sugar up.

Chris called the local EMT's who arrived within minutes along with a medic shortly thereafter. Once they assessed the situation and got me stabilized, they moved me to a gurney, out the door and into the waiting ambulance. A short, but rapid trip (maybe five minutes) with the lights flashing and siren wailing and I was being rolled into the Emergency Room of the local, small, West Virginia University-affiliated hospital. (Continue reading the rest of the article on the blog.)

The USA Is No Longer Livable

It's been a while since I've posted a new article. Life has been happening all over and around me. A lot of people see an idea that catches their eye and inspires them to read this blog. But, like most of us, we're looking for the magic pill, the secret elixir that will transform our lives from a place we're not happy or comfortable to that perfect life we're all seeking.

Well, that's not how it works. There are no magic pills or secret elixirs. Achieving the idealistic objective of living free and being happy takes time, research, energy, effort and - yes, just plain old WORK. There is no one size fits all. There are approximately 7.5 billion people inhabiting this piece of space dust we call home . . . planet Earth. And, every one of us is different and individual, even twins, triplets, etc.

There are so many things to discuss in an article like this. But, it seems like only a very few, basically countable on less than two hands, are willing to stick our necks out and introduce topics, ideas, concepts, philosophies, possibilities, realities, etc. I could suggest we few are the ones who may be closer to the answers for our own lives. I can only think that all those who are sitting in the background expect me and a few others to reveal a path to living free and ultimately being happy. Sadly, that isn't how it works in life.

Yesterday I read a blog post by a fellow nomad (he refers to himself as a vagabond). His name is Wade Shepard and his blog is titled "Vagabond Journey." He titled his September 21st blog article, "The USA Is 'Unlivable.' Ouch! This guy is un-American. If he doesn't like it here he should leave.

Let me give you a teaser to entice you a bit - he starts out by saying:

An Attitude of Gratitude . . .

Have you ever taken a moment to do some reverse thinking? No! I don't mean negative thinking. I mean reverse thinking.

I read an interesting guest post in one of the many blogs I subscribe to and read semi-regularly (because I only have the same 24 hours in a day everyone has). The title of the post was "Imagine Life Without This." The author, Nataly Kogan, is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, who fled with her family at 13 and lived in refugee camps with little food, comfort or any idea if they had a future. She is now, happily in the U.S. and has a new book coming out on May 1st titled "Happier Now: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Embrace Everyday Moments (Even the Difficult Ones)."

She makes some excellent points, coming from her own experiences. If you read what most of us write about, somehow it always seems to be how tough our lives are, how deprived we are of certain things we know would make our lives better and happier and how we always seem to want more as soon as we achieve a goal or acquire something new that we want. As soon as the novelty or exhilaration passes, usually within a very short period of time, we want MORE or BETTER.

Who? Why? How?

Those were three questions that crossed my mind the other day as I was doing some reminiscing about my own life and, sort of, comparing my life to the lives of some of my family, friends and associates.

The three things that crossed my mind were:

Who am I?

Why am I who I am?

How did I get to be the person I've become?

Superficially, these don't necessarily seem like deep questions. But, when you begin peeling away the layers, we will each find some pretty interesting, probably amazing and, quite possibly, awesome things about ourselves. For most of us, it took a long time to get “here,” wherever here is for you. In many instances, probably the better part of a lifetime. Perhaps you were fortunate enough to start gleaning these answers when you were quite a bit younger than me and my contemporaries. Consider yourself ahead in the game of life.

If we are like most normal people, we begin forming who we will eventually become at a very early age during our childhood. As we grow, our minds expand. We learn more and more about people, history, the world around us, what people do for a living (occupation/profession), what they do for recreation, hobbies, past times and family life. And, of course, we learn more and more about responsibilities, accountability, ethics, morals and the social system we reside in including government, social and civil controls on our lives.

If we are born and raised in a developed, western nation we are told we live in a free society. That is, we are free to do anything we want to do and live any way we want to . . . providing it doesn't cross the lines of the laws, regulations, codes, statutes, rules, limitations, restrictions, etc. established for everyone to live by. That may not seem like such a big deal until you realize that no one actually knows how many federal laws there are today. Back in 1980, the federal laws filled 23,000 pages. Today, there are some 20,000 laws just on gun use and ownership (yet, the public wants more laws – are we enforcing the 20,000 already existing laws?). And, there are currently 4,450 federal crimes with new ones added every year. Here's a thought, how many of these federal criminal laws have you broken?

And, guess what? These don't include state, county, local, homeowners association, work related, school related, religion-related and other laws, codes, statutes, regulations, rules, etc. we are expected to abide by. Do you feel a bit overwhelmed?

So, let's look at the Who, Why and How questions regarding who we each are individually.

Who Are You?

What Will YOU Do With 2018?

So . . . It's January 1, 2018. As you may have guessed about my philosophy on New Years Resolutions, I don't believe in them.

But, here is a question for you, and I hope you'll take just a few moments and contribute your thoughts and ideas.

What ONE THING can you do this year to make this your best year ever? It doesn't have to be Earth shattering or world saving. I can be about yourself, your family/friends, it can be about your community or country or the world at large. It doesn't have to be complicated, time consuming or costly. I trust it will be POSITIVE. It's just ONE THING you can do to, by your own definition, make this the best year of your life, ever.

Here is an example from my world.

Regret #2

If you recall, in the last post on Regret #1, I told you about the article Richard Rosen sent me from Dr. Joseph Mercola's Health Newsletter. The title was "What You Can Learn From Other People's Regrets."

He gathered his information from a book titled, "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying," by Bronnie Ware, a former palliative care nurse who interviewed many dying patients during her career. And, remember I'm not approaching this topic from a negative perspective. I simply want to address the regrets as discussion points.

So, here is the #2 Regret people have:

"Working too much, thereby missing children’s youth and their partner’s companionship."

"Virtually every man in Ware’s care listed missing out on family time because of excessive work."

Life On A Treadmill

Regrets! #1

When I woke up this morning, early, actually well before sunrise, I scanned my email, as I regularly do. I deleted those that held little interest this morning and then went back and opened those from friends or blogs I usually read or news feeds to scan the headlines. There I found an email from a friend and reader of this blog, Richard Rosen. He forwarded a link to a newsletter article, suggesting it was something I could have written.

Long story short, Richard was on the right trajectory. I've touched on some of the topics in some of my blog articles in the past. So, I thought I'd share some of the points made in the article with you with the hope of stimulating some open discussion. Remember, everyone has their own perspectives on these kinds of topics. There are no right or wrong ideas.

The title of the article was "What You Can Learn From Other People's Regrets." The author, one Dr. Joseph Mercola, who publishes the Mercola Health Newsletter. But, more specifically Dr. Mercola expounded on the regrets people have as they approach death. He gathered his information from a book titled, "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying," by Bronnie Ware, a former palliative care nurse who interviewed many dying patients during her career.

I'm not opening this up from a negative, we're all dying, approach. Rather, as a way to do something NOW to avoid these regrets when we reach our "user expiration date," someday.

So, here is the #1 Regret people have:

Living Free in an Unfree World

The title of this article sounds like a paradox. How can you live free if the world is unfree?

But, even before I address that idea, what do I mean by an unfree world? Don’t we live in a free country? Aren’t we free to do anything we want to? Doesn’t the U.S. Constitution (for those who are U.S. citizens or residents) guarantee our freedom? Even if you live in other developed countries claiming to be open and free societies, are you really free?

Here is a hard fact. If you live in any society with any kind of governance: democratic, parliamentary, republic, monarchy, dictatorship, socialistic, communistic, totalitarian or any other form of governance you can name . . . you are NOT free. As long as there is any kind of authority that prescribes laws, regulations, rules, restrictions, limitations, covenants, constraints or any other form of control over your thinking and/or actions that you must subscribe and adhere to, you are not free.

So, is it actually possible to be 100% free? From what I can tell, as long as you live on this planet and interact with other people and live within the borders of any area considered to be some form of jurisdiction under some organized, societal structure, I have to say no. It’s not possible to ever be 100% free.

A Letter To Greg

This article is actually a letter (sent by email) to a very good and valued friend of mine of 50 years. I sent this letter to Greg earlier today. I realized as I was concluding the letter that it is really a Manifesto.

There is an old cliché that says there are three kinds of people in society.

#1 People who make things happen.

#2 People who watch things happen.

#3 People who wonder what happened.

That relates to what goes on in politics, religion and other forms of social interaction. I want to be part of group #1. I, unfortunately, often find myself as part of group #2. But, I strive my hardest to avoid at nearly all costs being part of group #3.

Lately, I've found myself losing sight of who I really am by being sucked in and reacting (knee-jerk reaction) to issues, events and ideological discussions I really can't do anything about and that really are not my problems. I find myself spending far too much of my priceless time writing to inform, educate or influence people who really don't want to be informed, educated or influenced. They simply

Behavior & Attitude – 2 Essays

Well, first, my regrets and apologies for nothing new on the blog in a couple weeks. You already know I've been less literarilly (I don't think that's a word) productive this year. What I have written, hopefully, has been of value to you.

I've been quite tied up with a client project the last few weeks that came along by surprise in July. I stopped soliciting new clients and business a couple years ago for the careers I've enjoyed for the past 50+ years as an audio engineer/producer, video producer and book publisher (about 12 years of the 50). And, of course, there have been the ancillary careers doing voice-overs, speaking, conducting seminars/workshops and doing some meeting planning/execution. Yes! I've had a diverse and fantastic career. I couldn't have imagined a better career path. And, of course, to tie it all together, I was a small business owner my entire life. I always worked for one of the toughest bosses anyone could have – ME!

So, along comes a new project (actually, at least three projects) from my longest term client and friend. We've been working on his projects for nearly 40 years. That's called loyalty and dedication from both sides – client and vendor. He's approaching 90 and I'm a little over 33 in a 72-year-old body. On the outset, I knew there were going to be some challenges with the project, but it's actually teaching this old dog some new tricks – I like that.

Additionally, I've been completing the coordination and execution of a “retreat” for a small group (50 in attendance) of veteran professional speakers – mostly old friends and new ones – from my 25 years of membership in the National Speakers Association. I have to tell you, I have been blessed, honored and humbled to have all the friends I have from all facets of my life. With the kind of diverse “professional” life I've had comes this wonderful array of people. The universe has truly smiled on me.

We had a fantastic four-day retreat last weekend. It couldn't have been more fulfilling, not only for me but for all those who came from across the U.S. to share our time, lives and experiences with one another. Everyone left with something to enhance their lives with.

One woman, a brand new participant and a wonderful new friend for me, came from Houston, Texas. Yes! She left her home just prior to Hurricane Harvey ravaging southeast Texas. For some time she didn't know if her home would be alright. She couldn't get home when the retreat was over, so she stayed with some family in Virginia. Fortunately, her home didn't experience any significant damage. Michelle's daughter opened her house up to evacuees who had no place to go. When Michelle gets home (she may be there by now) she plans to spend her time helping all those in her region with their needs, recovering from this horrific storm.

So, now, I'm going to include two essays, or maybe they might be considered “Opeds,” I posted on Facebook during the last couple weeks. The first one I was attacked about by a number of people because they didn't actually read what I wrote. They read what they wanted to believe I said, not what I actually said. A number of people did read it and understood my point. So, that's why I called this blog article Behavior & Attitude.

If you read these two pieces – and they are going to be lengthy, so I'm warning you now. Don't delve into this unless you're willing to read what could amount to a healthy chapter of a book. I do my best to be a rational, pragmatic, independent free thinking, positive person. But, I can tell you, I was really condemned by several people because they applied labels and ideologies to me that I never espoused or even mentioned. The essays were both essentially about behavior. How they were read and how I was attacked was about attitude. So, get ready, you might want to get a drink and go to the bathroom before you begin.

What Is Your WHY?

I caught a movie the other day. I hadn't heard of it before. It was probably not a big box office hit. But, it had several of my favorite actors starring in it, several of them being Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Kiera Knightly and Helen Mirren among others. The title of the movie was “Collateral Beauty.” The title didn't attract me. What caught my attention was in the opening sequence when Will Smith, playing the role of a successful advertising executive, asked one of life's Big Questions of his employees,

“What is your WHY?”

This, on the surface, may seem like a pretty simplistic and, perhaps, benign question. Some might see it as superficial. You may have read this question in some self-help book. Maybe you've had this question posed by a “motivational speaker” in a crowd of maybe tens, hundreds or thousands of people gathered to gain the “the Secret” of becoming a raging success story. Maybe a preacher, priest, rabbi or other religious leader proffered this question. And, if you were really, really lucky, maybe you had a teacher in an elementary, secondary or college class pose the question (but, they probably never followed through with how to discover your Why).

It's very easy to skim over the answers. Most everyone has an immediate pat answer to this question and the many tangential questions that spring forth from it. Such questions as:

Are You An Addict?

That's a loaded question and I'm sure many readers immediately reacted with a resounding NO! I'm not an addict. Well, I beg to differ. I'm going to suggest you're a rare person if you're not an addict.

Okay, let me clarify this a bit. I certainly hope you're not an alcoholic or drug junkie (either prescription or recreational drugs) or pornography. I also hope you're not addicted to gambling, sex, food and binge eating, smoking, binge shopping, life threatening adrenaline rushes, work (for an employer or, especially your own business) and similar. Alcohol and drugs, just plain BAD. Pornography is a controversial issue. The others, in moderation and as appropriate, meaning it doesn't jeopardize your family, financial security, home, physical being and so on, but you do some of these occasionally when it's reasonable and safe are probably okay.

Now, here is what I'm really talking about. Are you addicted to:

Facebook

Email

YouTube

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Messaging

Texting

HSN

QVC

Netflix Binge Watching

Amazon Prime Binge Watching

Hulu Binge Watching

Vimeo

Mindless Reality Shows

You can add to this list as necessary for you personally.

Now, please don't kid your self or insult my intelligence by saying no to all of these. The reality is, that virtually everyone is addicted to at least one of these things and most likely more than one. And, worse yet, you may not even realize it. Most addicts, as I'm sure you're aware, are in denial. Some never accept their addictions and may suffer serious negative consequences many times as extreme as loss of family, financial ruin and even death. “Gees,” you say, “he's really serious about this isn't he?”

Yes! I am! This subject has been banging around in my head lately. What triggered this article was a blog post the other morning by a voice-over colleague from Las Vegas, Nevada. Dave made me stop short and think about the thoughts I mentioned that were rolling around in my noggin. He included a couple links to some very revealing thoughts on this subject. One of them included a TED Talk link. I read them and watched the TED Talk with great interest. If any of this may be ringing a bell with you, then read on.

The Land That Was

Happiness – 15 Ways To Defeat Happiness

Wow! How's that for a headline – a negative approach to a positive state of being.

I know, I'm usually trying to give you points, tips and ideas to encourage you in your quest to live personally freer, happier and more joyful. Well, here is a reality, most of us, with few exceptions, are our own worst enemies and we don't know it.

“What,” you say. “I'm working diligently on living a positive, productive and simple life. Doesn't this result in happiness and joyfulness?" Of course, like so many aspects of life, this can be paradoxical.

As you are likely aware, I read (and listen and watch) many blogs (and podcasts and YouTube vlogs) in my own constant search for ideas and answers to questions about life. Of course I have my own continual quest for personal development going on. No one has the perfect life and formula, but we all are in different places in our lifetime journey and agenda.

So, some time ago I discovered the blog of a young woman who has found her own unique path to financial security. Over a six or seven year period, she has developed a monthly income well in excess of $100,000.00. This year she's on target to generate, probably between 1.6 and 2 million dollars for her annual revenue. Not bad, huh? And she hasn't even reached 30 years of age, yet. She and her husband are debt free. They live on the road, full-time in a motor home and travel across the U.S. They have the kind of lifestyle many of us dream about, but still don't believe we can achieve and enjoy.

What's It All About – Part Deux

To follow up on my last blog article “What's It All About,” I ran into this interesting video on Facebook about the education system in Finland. The U.S., the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world is being eroded from within. I believe a significant reason for this is our deteriorating educational system.

Allow me to preface my remarks by stating that 50 years ago (I just attended the 50^th class reunion of my graduation from Montclair State College - now University), I earned a B.A. degree in education with my specialty being Industrial Arts. I also was awarded teacher certification, accepted in virtually every state in the U.S., for Kindergarten through 12^th grade.

I was, myself, a product of the public education system. I skipped kindergarten, but completed grades 1 – 12 in the Clifton, New Jersey public school system. Even as a wet behind the ears, know it all, 22 year old graduate of the teaching curriculum of the (at that time) crown jewel of the New Jersey state colleges, all specializing in teacher education at that time, I saw real issues I knew were going to continue to deteriorate in the New Jersey (and U.S.) educational system. In my opinion, I was not wrong in my projections.

What's It All About?

Remember the songs "What's It All About Alfie?" and "Is That All There Is?" In my humble opinion, based on my own life experiences, IT is about just FOUR simple things - personal freedom, love, happiness and peace.

So then, if a fulfilling life can be broken down to those four simple things, WHY DO WE ALL MAKE IT SO COMPLICATED? And, why do so many people live lives of quiet desperation, as Thoreau described it? Why do they leave this life unfulfilled, never realizing personal freedom, experiencing true love in its many forms, enjoying real happiness and joy and knowing the peace that all is well and they are safe and secure?

Why do they seek these things in bottles of alcohol, pills and junk they inject in their veins or snort up their noses? Why do they run to the shopping mall or go online to buy more stuff they don't really need, just to "feel better" for a moment's relief from the complexity and emotional/psychological pain of the life they've created by their own choices? Why don't they make some different choices and change their lives? I've been down some of these paths. Thankfully, not the alcohol or drug routes. But, only by the Grace of God, have I avoided those paths.

M. Scott Peck's first three words in his best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled, were, "Life is difficult." He goes on to elaborate, "This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know

A New Day

Here is a wonderful and inspirational piece. It really impacted me, so I reformatted it into something I could print and give to people. You are free to copy this and share it with others. No hocus-pokus to it. It's simply feeding your mind with positive input whenever you look at it. I have this set up so it's printable on parchment paper stock suitable for framing.

It's great to give anyone, but especially those facing serious challenges in their life – like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression, etc. so, share it with others.

It's Been Too Long - Thanks For Your Patience!

Wow! Where does the time go? It's been just over two months since my last post on the blog. It was titled, “Life On The Road. . .Living in 50 Square Feet - Part I,” you can click on the title and read (or reread) it if you haven't already read it.

Obviously, I was starting a new series of articles on life on the road, but it seems life on the road got in the way of writing about life on the road. My regrets for not keeping up with one of the passions of my life, writing about personal freedom, happiness and choosing simple, minimal and frugal lifestyles to enjoy a happy life.

Yes! I'll admit it, while the appearance of my nomadic lifestyle is one of simplicity, minimalism and frugality, sometimes life just gets complicated. We, of course, live in a very complicated world and society. Once upon a time, sans rapidly advancing technology, a society based on high-speed progress, the constant bombardment of material/consumerism messages (upwards of 5,000 such messages per day according to current studies), the constant need for higher levels of status and keeping up with the Jones's,and the loss (in my opinion) of a value system based on people and relationships, we were very different. I believe we have lost a significant part of our humanity over my adult lifetime.

Life On The Road. . .Living in 50 Square Feet - Part I

Life on the road is a unique lifestyle embraced by only a very small fraction of the population in the United States. As in most things, there are variations on the theme. Here are some examples: over the road truck drivers; traveling nurses; traveling specialists (engineers, technicians, consultants, evangelists and others); travel writers and photographers; artists; musicians; homeless/jobless; disabled; retirees and others, perhaps . . . like me. Another entire genre of “mobile” people include those who live on the water. But, that's another story for someone else.

Of course, the reasons, motivations and inspirations for all the people I've mentioned (and others I couldn't think of off the top of my head) are as varied as the various kinds of on the road people I mentioned. I should also mention, at this time, there are probably as many women, perhaps more, as there are men enjoying this lifestyle.

Those who are “housebound” or live in a fixed residential situation may not understand why people, especially like me and an untold number of my traveling friends, live this lifestyle. Many say they envy my freedom. Many are probably thinking, though unspoken . . . poor guy, he's broke, homeless and hungry. None of those are true in my case. I freely chose this lifestyle. Maybe I'm just reverting back to the “hippie” days I traded for college, graduate school, the Air Force during the Vietnam era, a business career and family.

Welcome to my world! Revisited - Year 9

Every year or so I revert back to my first post on this blog to review where it started and where it evolved to. This was post #1 on February 6, 2008. It was just a few days shy of nine months later when I left my ranch for the last time to pursue a very different lifestyle. And, it's now a little more than nine years ago since I wrote the original post. My notes indicating the changes and evolution in me, my lifestyle, my thinking and the blog are all in italics embedded in the copy of the original post.

This blog is about exactly what the title states - “living and working free.” Actually, the focus is now on how to live free including all facets of human experience and lifestyle and the name changed to "2 Live Freely” a couple years ago. Now, to make sure this concept is perfectly clear, I DO NOT mean living FOR free nor working FOR free. I mean living and working freely under our own rules, terms and conditions for our lifestyles and workstyles.

It is important to note that there are no rules, terms or conditions carved in stone that tell us how we should live or how we should work. The only rules are those that we each establish for ourselves in our own hearts and minds . . . unless we adopt the rules, conditions and terms that others may want to impose on us. This holds true to the current blog posts and my philosophical thinking - no significant changes.

My postings here are going to be based on MY feelings, opinions, concepts, wants and needs. What I say may or may not apply to you – or perhaps only parts of what I say may apply to you. So, do not, under any circumstances, consider anything I say here to be gospel. What I say only pertains to me and my life. The operative word in all of this is “FREE!”

The Reason WHY . . . Part II

Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico on Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

The photo opening this post is from my current “yard.” I'm writing this from the beach of the Gulf of Mexico on the Padre Island (Texas) National Seashore. I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and slept last night to the sound of the surf. Today, my background inspiration, as I compose this article, is the surf (it's low tide), the breeze and the occasional sounds of a variety of birds on a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and a few puffy white clouds. I'm sitting comfortably at my desk in My McVansion. You won't read this until sometime after I've left this beautiful location since I don't have any wireless phone or Internet connection here. Another respite to enjoy.

You also see a photo of the My McVansion galley. I enjoyed a couple cups of Chai tea, a banana, some cantaloupe and I made myself a bagel sandwich flavored with maple syrup and an egg seasoned the way I like it, with melted cheese and smoked sausage to top it off. It was a magnificent breakfast and will probably carry me to dinner time, with, perhaps, a light snack to carry me over. Does it sound like I'm enjoying my life? Indeed! The big question in my mind is why (there's that word again) I didn't do this a lot sooner . . . or maybe for my entire life.

Here's a thought for you. If you are asking yourself 'why' about a lot of things in your past and current life, you likely have some serious, unresolved issues. It's my personal intention to reach the “final destination” (the same one we all arrive at, ultimately) with the greatest memories of all I did during my brief lifespan and not regretting all the things I never did, but always wanted to. Too many people end up bitter, if they live long enough, because they feel they were robbed or deprived of so many things they always wanted to do. But, in fact, they were neither robbed nor deprived. They made conscious choices to do and accept what their life turned out to be.

Why Do You Live Where You Live?