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One of a Kind News

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Table of Contents

1. Welcome Notes
2. Article -- My Top 57 Learnings
3. A Touch of Humor
4. Words of Wisdom

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1. Welcome Notes

Dear Friends,

Welcome to all new subscribers! I am honored that you have joined us.

January is my birthday month. On January 13th I turned 57 years old. Whew! That's a lot of years! My family blessed me by cooking my favorite meal of steak and lobster. It rivaled any restaurant dinner! After dinner, my daughter, Shannon asked me "If you could be younger, what age would you want to be"? On reflection, my answer was "I wouldn't want to be any younger." She seemed surprised. The truth is that I'm happy to be the age that I am right here and right now. I am more peaceful, joyful and happy than I've ever been. I still have challenging life situations AND they don't bother me as much as they used to. There is much to be said for getting older.

Birthdays are a good time to reflect. This year I decided to reflect on what I've learned in my life up to this point. In this issue, I share those learnings.

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2. My Top 57 Learnings

The following learnings inform and guide my life. They are not
in any particular order. They are all important to me.

1. We each have unique gifts and we are meant to share them with the world. My purpose in life is to support people in doing that.
2. We have the power to heal our lives and ourselves.
3. Adversity can make us stronger, wiser and more compassionate.
4. We need each other. At our core, we are all one.
5. God works through us as vessels for his love and guidance.
6. We are stronger and more powerful than we think we are.
7. Even the ugliest weed can become a beautiful flower when nurtured properly.
8. What we focus on expands.
9. When we fully accept others as they are, they are free to become more of who they really are.
10. When we fully accept ourselves, we blossom.
11. Fears constricts, love expands - all things.
12. All negative feelings arise from fear.
13. Anxiety kills, love heals.
14. We are energetic, vibrating, magnetic beings who attract things, people, events, and situations into our lives that vibrate at the same frequency that we vibrate. Love has the highest frequency and fear has the lowest. We can raise our vibration by coming from a place of love instead of fear.
15. Each and every one of us is awesome!
16. Our strengths carried too far become our weaknesses.
17. We are not, nor do we have to be, perfect. We are enough just the way we are.
18. We are never alone, divine guidance is always available. We just need to listen. Prayer is talking to God, meditating is listening to God.
19. There is no one way to God. He/she has provided many paths.
20. Adopt a "beginner's mind" in all things ñ be childlike, not childish.
21. Good questions are more important than the right answers. Question everything.
22. Listen at least twice as much as you talk. Listen generously.
23. There is no such thing as being too sensitive.
24. It's not what you did, but what you do next.
25. Life was not meant to be a struggle.
26. Anything we do can bring joy if it's done with a spirit of love. When we infuse love in everything we do, we find peace and joy.
27. We are creating our lives in each moment and we have the power to create well.
28. There is not enough time to do everything we want to do, we must choose.
29. God has some great ideas! For example, keeping the Sabbath, building our lives on a solid foundation and the truth will set us free.
30. We are always coming either from a place of love or a place of fear. We can choose love.
31. We have an energy body that needs as much care as our physical body.
32. We can never show love too much.
33. Angels surround us. Sometimes they are disguised as our friends and our furry companions.
34. The kingdom of heaven is found in the present moment.
Hell is dwelling in the past or future. Forgive the past, plan for the future and live in the present.
35. Our animal companions can give us the unconditional love we may never have received elsewhere. We can learn much from animals.
36. Our body tells us what it needs, if we just tune in.
37. Taking good care of yourself is not being selfish, it's being Self-full.
38. Spirituality doesn't mean religion, and religion doesn't mean spirituality.
39. Our children can grow up to be our best friends and wisest teachers.
40. We can rise above our ashes.
41. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
42. There are no accidents/coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason. Look for the blessings in everything.
43. Everything in and around us is made of energy. Solid objects are merely compressed energy called matter. We both impact and are impacted by this energy.
44. There is a profound difference between caretaking and caregiving.
45. I am not responsible for others feelings. I am responsible for presenting my truth with love.
46. Life is a bowl of cherries, some with pits. The key is to eat around the pits.
47. We have an ego and a spirit. Our greatest purpose in life is to move the ego aside and let our spirit shine through to light up the world.
48. What goes on inside each of us is but a microcosm of what goes on in the world. We can heal the world by healing ourselves.
49. By our thoughts, choices and intentions, we create our world and ourselves.
50. Self-doubt is the killer of dreams.
51. Resist nothing. Fully accept what is. Resistance keeps us stuck. Acceptance moves us forward.
52. Peace is an inside job.
53. Simplify, simplify, simplify
54. In all things, my greatest goal is inner peace.
55. Self-discipline = being a disciple unto oneself.
56. In all things, remember to breathe.
57. Any and all of the above are subject to change as I continue to learn and grow.

I'm looking forward to what I will learn in the next 57 years. Life is such a learning adventure!

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3. A Touch of Humor

That Old Woman

A very weird thing has happened! A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly didn't invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there, and the next day she was!

She's very clever. She manages to keep out of sight, for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her there. And when I look directly into a mirror to check my appearance, suddenly she's hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. It's very disconcerting. I've tried screaming at her to leave, but she just screams back, grimacing horribly. She's really rather frightening.

I think she steals money from me regularly. I go to the ATM and withdraw a hundred dollars, and a few days later, it's gone. I certainly don't go through it that fast, so I can only conclude that the old lady pilfers it. You'd think she'd spend some of it on wrinkle cream. God knows she needs it.

And the money isn't the only thing she's taking. Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate, especially the good stuff. Ice cream, cookies, candy. I just can't keep them in the house. She really has a sweet tooth. She should watch itóshe's really putting on the pounds. I think she realizes that, and to make herself feel better, I know she is tampering with my scale so I'll think that I'm gaining weight, too. For an old lady, she's really quite childish. She also gets into my closets when I'm not home and alters all of my clothes. They're getting tighter every day.

Another thing, I wish she'd stop messing with my files and the papers on my desk. I can't find a thing any more. This is particularly hard to deal with because I'm extremely neat and organized, but she manages to jumble everything up so nothing is where it's supposed to be. Furthermore, when I program my VCR to tape something important, she fiddles with it after I leave the room so it records the wrong channel or shuts off completely.

She finds innumerable, imaginative ways to irritate me. She gets to my newspapers, magazines and mail before me and blurs all the print. And, she's done something sinister with the volume controls on my TV, radio and telephone. Now all I hear are mumbles and whispers. She's also made my stairs steeper, my vacuum cleaner heavier, all the knobs and faucets harder to turn, and my bed higher and a real challenge to climb into and out of.

Furthermore, she gets to my groceries as soon as I shelve them and applies super glue to the tops of every jar and bottle so they're just about impossible to open. Is this any way to repay my hospitality? I don't even get any respite at night. More than once her snoring has awakened me. I don't know why she can't do something about that--it's very unattractive.

As if all this isn't bad enough, she is no longer confining her malevolence to the house. She's now found a way to sneak into my car with me and follow me wherever I go. I see her reflection in store windows as I pass, and she's taken all the fun out of clothes shopping because her penchant for monopolizing mirrors has extended to dressing rooms. When I try something on, she dons an identical outfit--which looks ridiculous on her--and then stands directly in front of me so I can't see how great it looks on me!

She's walking on thin ice. If she keeps this up, I swear I'll put her in a home. On second thought, I shouldn't be too hasty. First--I'll check with the IRS and see if I can claim her as a dependent.

What's more I think next summer I may just need all of your permissions to have her be at our retreat because I just know she'll find a way to come along with me. As a matter of fact, she must have been there this last year when she took my keys, my notebook and made me leave my wallet at the movie theater.
-Author Unknown

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4. Words of Wisdom

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been."
--Mark Twain

"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
--Author unknown

"We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."
--Author unknown

"The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball."
--Doug Larson

"Hinduism, Islam and all the worlds ancient texts decree that we honor the elderly. Yet in our culture, we are ignorant of our elders, that is, we ignore the wealth that is available. Learn to find the sage in age, and you will grow wiser too."
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"To remain young while growing old is the highest blessings."
--German Proverb

"It's all about energy. Look at a 3 year old, filled with exuberance, energy, life. For most people, as we advance in years our energy dwindles. If we consciously build energy, as we grow older, as well as clearing away "the wreckage of the past," we can youthen instead.
--Meryl Hershey Beck

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Until we meet again, remember to:

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by golden hours,
Don't remember clouds at all.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows.
Count your years with smiles, not tears.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
Count your age by friends, not years.
--Author Unknown

Blessings to you and yours,

Sharon

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Copyright © 2000, 2001 all rights reserved.
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1536-5891
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute One of a Kind News so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. The author of this newsletter is: Sharon L. Demarte, M.A.