Your friend is struggling

How do you/can you help a friend who is struggling with depression so badly that they shut you out (and maybe others, too)?

You want to help and maybe have tried things, but this time it doesn’t seem to help your friend. You worry and pray for your friend, and keep trying to provide that magic pill that might make the difference. You miss your friend and want them back.

The computer

Does everyone else get as much enjoyment and benefit as I do from using the computer? I use Microsoft Word to do all my writings, which include my books, prose, writing about random topics, my life story, my personal journal, etc.

I love my personal blogs on the internet...it is great to relax and post on them all. I enjoy reading other people’s blogs, also. I love learning about different things, so I do a Google search about something and then study up. I love the different forums and groups on the internet that I can learn from and contribute to.

E-mail is terrific !! What a great, fast way to stay in touch with others. Working with photos on the computer is so easy and fun, also. Then there is the endless resources for doing genealogy on the internet, or any other interest or hobby one might have. I am glad for the technology of computers and the many good ways it can help us and add to our lives.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

How true this is! Some of our associations with others are to the degree and depth that when we are apart, our heart indeed yearns for that person. We miss them. We need to SEE them, we need to HEAR them, and we need to FEEL the warmth of their skin again.

Patience and kindness

Two good qualities of character are that of having patience and kindness. It does not matter how old you are, or how old the people are that you come into contact with each day. They may be your family, neighbors or strangers that you brush past occasionally.

Using patience and kindness when in the presence of others is treating them with respect. Remember the Golden Rule? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Likewise, and most importantly, it is a true test of character when you are placed in a position of interacting and helping the elderly people. Always remember...you too, will be old someday...so how would you like to be treated?

The aging process

I just finished writing to my friend who is having a hard time, like me, enduring the aging process. Sometimes the natural ways of life are difficult and they become more so the older we get. Then it is easy for that enemy, self pity, to grab hold of us and drag us down some more. But we must not despair, we must lift our head high and with a smile on our face go forward and find that strength and peace that is surely within us, and that will carry us through the rest of life and help us to endure that which comes to us.

Learning who we came from

Click on images to see larger .... (on the pedigree chart, put YOU as #1 and then work backward on your family lines)

We each have and live our own lives, but have you ever wondered about the lives of those ancestors who you came from?

Their stories can be fascinating, to be sure. Take the time to ask your grandparents and other older relatives, to tell you the story of THEIR life and about THEIR parents and THEIR grandparents. You will learn some interesting things that will help you know more about them and their feelings and thoughts and how they dealt with situations in their life. Then record these stories for your own posterity to have. But it’s important to understand and know who we each came from because they are certainly a part of us.

Simplify our life

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the mechanics and rush of living our life that we forget to MAKE time to relax and enjoy it. That’s when we need to find ways to simplify some of the things we do….maybe even eliminating a few of the stress causers and heavy social activities that demand our time and zap our energy. Life should be filled with joy, so we need to take the time to slow down and really see and appreciate all the beauty that surrounds our life.

Old photos jog our memories

I have been going through some of my old photos from High School and other times. It is the most amazing thing to look at these photos and be delighted with the memories that the photos bring to the forefront of my mind.

As with most everyone, our photos may be shoved loosely into envelopes and boxes. Because of this delving into my past, I have caused myself to create new “projects” for myself now. But this should certainly be fun!

Go feed the ducks !

Life and times are getting pretty scary. Some of us are really struggling in many ways. We need to have an outlet that will allow us to forget for awhile all the bad things. Go read a good fiction novel...watch a funny movie...OR...go feed the ducks.

A time for hope, faith and trust

With things so uncertain in our lives right now, it certainly can bring with it a myriad of feelings and thoughts about the future. It can be scary. It can be depressing. It can be deeply discouraging.

The more we dwell on the negative side, the worse we make ourselves feel. Trying hard to have hope, faith and trust that we will be alright, that we can find a smattering of peace within…can and will see us through.

None of us are alone in this economic situation. It affects us all in some way or another. If we can manage to reach out to help someone else, even with the emotional part, it can bring immense blessings to all concerned.