WELCOME

We all want people in our lives, our world, and our homes.  Get to know each other through conversations, spending time together, and visiting our residences.  This is how we welcome someone.

Making others feel comfortable around us is the first step to friendship.  Have balanced conversations, enjoy each others company, learn about tech other, and invite them into our homes.  Making our home comfortable to guests is the second step to friendship. Of course, our home and furnishings must function well and make us feel comfortable.  Then our guests should feel comfortable and learn more about us as our home reflects our values, personalities, and hobbies.  It often contains reminders of our  past but should have room for the future.   

Just as we get first impressions of a person when we first meet them, we get first impressions of a person's home when we first visit.  Put out the welcome mat and make your guests feel comfortable.

DON'T CHANGE

Resist change that is not beneficial to you and those you love.  Your peer group, your culture, and anyone trying to manipulate you to change just for their benefit may not have your best interests in mind.  You have created your path throughout your life, making both wise and unwise decisions.  Appreciate the wise decisions, forgive yourself for mistakes, and go forward.  

Don't stubbornly cling to outmoded or ineffective  opinions and behaviors.  Think out of the box, keep an open mind, and consider other options.  Discover the reasons you agree or disagree and weigh the benefits or drawbacks of change.    

To help your thinking, talk with trusted friends.  Be brave to change or not to change.  Choose your own path.  

CHANGE

Progress requires change.  If you like the way things are and don't want change, progress may come to a standstill.  If you have more confidence in past decisions, future improvements may become impossible.

Some people advise to think out of the box, consider many ways of doing things.  This can be difficult if that box is your closed mind.  Comfort frequently comes from keeping things the same; the familiar has served a purpose and seems more satisfying.  Change seems unnecessary, even risky.

Sometimes an outside influence, a fresh set of eyes, can get you going.  Be brave; consider other options and open that box of possibilities.  Change.  

  

TOO MUCH

Look at your living space.  Think how much of that space is taken up by stuff and how nice it might be if that extra stuff were donated to someone else.  Some people become hoarders; their actual living space is crowded with unnecessary stuff perhaps for sentimental reasons; the stuff reminds them of special people or special times in their lives.  Some people just like to collect things as a hobby.  Of course, photographs and other special mementoes need to be kept as part of our history for future generations.

Look at your living space agin and try to imagine what visitors may see, what is on display.  Perhaps your space is devoted to the past instead of leaving room for the present and future.  Sometimes just more open space can be soothing for you and others, less claustrophobic.

Look at your living space once more.  If you live alone and expect to stay that way, change may not be necessary, but if another person is residing with you, they also need a comfort zone.      

Decide what is really essential for your present and future happiness. Think about why you need so much stuff.  How much is too much?     

 

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Widows and widowers have lost their first mate.  Being alone without a special someone is a difficult challenge.  In some cases, another special person comes along to provide friendship and companionship.  In some cases, the two of you may want a second chance to become a couple.  Love may develop for a second time in your lives.

This time around is different.  Your children from your marriage are grown and perhaps have children of their own.  You may be retired and have finished your careers.  This may be a big surprise and takes time to develop.  One person may speed ahead with high hopes while the other may be hesitant and shy.  But if all works out well, this second time around may be one of the best surprises of your lives. 

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

 Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has signed a law that requires every public school classroom to display a poster of The Ten Commandments.  Public schools should not promote religion.  Church and state should remain separate.  

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

 Imagine making a different decision, taking a different path; everyone has allowed this thought into their imagination.  We accept where we are but wonder where we could have been, how our life might be different had we chosen a different road.

Our major in college, our traditional behavior, our style of marriage, our tendency to live mostly in the present, plus many other major decisions we made throughout life. We think we did our best with what we had and with what our culture expected.

We now live in another day; we can pause and concentrate on the present while considering the future: staying healthy, helping family and friends, remaining curious, and continuing to develop our talents.  We no longer have to follow the path suggested by our parents or our culture.  We can make our own road.