43 and feeling...

birthday

(burth-dey) noun

an anniversary of the day of your birth; I can’t believe I’m having another birthday.

Sooner or later it was bound to happen.  I would have preferred later.  I’ve turned 43.

42 and still no clue has evolved into 43 and feeling _________  I’m not sure how to fill in the blank just yet but I’m confident it will come to me. 

My forty-second year was pretty awesome!  I got to travel to South East Asia and visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.  I left my job after ten long years and am giving this “writing thing” a try.  I have happily joined the ranks of my fellow flesh eaters, consuming meat with reckless abandon.

I doubt anybody wants to hear an old man wax philosophically… but too bad.  I’ve decided to share some of my “rules for living a happy life.”  Take what you want and leave the rest.  These “rules” are what work for me.  Here are 10 good ones.

Stop asking questions that have no answers:  There is no easier, or quicker way to drive yourself crazy.  Let the impossible questions go.

Be gentle with yourself:  You are not as fat or as ugly or as high as you think you are.  You will not be high forever.  You will come down.  Eventually. 

Never ask a woman when her baby is due:  There is an off chance that she will not actually be pregnant and you will have single handedly destroyed her confidence for the rest of her life.  Unless there is a baby coming out of her vagina just don’t ask.  Ever.

There is nothing that cannot be fixed with duct tape:  This may be a very Canadian belief but it is nonetheless true.

Intention is everything:  The reason behind what you do is more important than what you actually do. 

Walk a mile in their shoes:  Looking at things from the other person’s perspective will automatically make you more compassionate.  As hard as it is to believe, you are not always right.

Get a cat:  I don’t think I’ve had a better friend than Chubby Lady.

Volunteer:  There is nothing better I do with my time.  Period. 

Travel as much and as often as you can:  The world is big.   Nothing will give you a better perspective on your life or your “problems” like seeing how other people live.  We can be very happy with very little.

Be fearless:  Fear will cripple your life.  Do the things that scare you the most.  Jump from a cliff, sing in public, ask that really hot guy out for coffee; you will only regret the things you were too afraid to do.

I hope this doesn’t sound too preachy…

43 and feeling _________

Any ideas?