It Bears Repeating.

Ha! Did you think this entry would be about Keillor? No, I am so sorry to disappoint you. What bears repeating in this entry is "Ponderisms," an old forwarded email that has been around the block more than once. My parents sent this to me a couple of days ago. Some of the witticisms are quite insightful. I wanted to share them and my thoughts with you.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

This reminds me of something I heard once: Don't sweat the petty stuff and everything is petty. I tend to look at things too seriously. Especially here lately. We need to take the time to find the joy and beauty in every day. Sometimes we might have to dig a little deep and strain our eyes to find it, but it is there.

Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but you can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

Hello, kiddo! She has this little quip as a bumper sticker on her car. She also tumbles a lot. On a more serious note, everyone is important. Everyone has feelings that should be taken into consideration. Sounds like the Golden Rule, doesn't it?

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Health and a healthy lifestyle is vitally (*giggles at pun*) important. However, I have seen some people take it far too seriously and then lose the joy in living. (See witticism #1)

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

Frisbees! My brother was some frisbee champ, let me tell ya. When he was 14 or 15 he competed in some sort of frisbee thing and took 2nd place. Now, even frisbee is competitive. Dogs vie for top honors and others play golf with them. My Dad was the master of angles when it came to tossing a frisbee at me. Back then, frisbee was fun. What happened?

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Lately, Kiddo has been reminding me to breathe and to make those breaths deep. Sort of reminds me of one of the Karate Kid movies. I think the second one. "When you feel out of focus, Daniel-san, always go back to essential of life." "What? Praying?" "No, breathing. Take deep breath in da nose, out da mouf. Breathe in...breathe out....There. How feel now?" Man, I watch too many movies. My head is full of this worthless stuff.

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

Boo, yeah. I figure most people are doing the best they can the majority of the time. We may disagree with the choices people make, but just how productive is criticism?

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Are you on Prozac? Well gimme some! Everything seems weird to me right now.

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt."

For you, kiddo! She doesn't eat much meat but will get protein from eggs. Actually, I included this one because it made me laugh out loud. No other reason. Sometimes just laughing out loud is the best thing a person can do.

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Adults don't do this, but little kids do. You know, the half-sized humans who haven't been criticized to the point of self-consciousness. They haven't been laughed at enough to make them nervous about their appearance in public. They are who they are. Adults could learn from this.

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that Acme crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

Why do we do things the hard way? Why must we swim upstream, fight the powers that be, and/or go around our elbows to get to our thumbs? The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Perhaps we should figure out where we want to go and then consider the shortest, easiest way to get there before we set foot on the path.

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

Just for fun. Did you think the word in your head? Now say it out loud and smile.

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

I love seeing Bat Dogs! (Another whimsical movie quote) People are funny like that, too. I think it is all about having choices. When you blow in the dog's face, has the dog told you it would like to be blown upon? No. You forced the poor canine into the situation. Now then - roll down a car window and he has a choice: to be blown or not to be blown. That is what makes him happy. It makes people happy, too. The knowledge that one has options helps to foster a feeling of freedom rather than the sensation of being trapped. Please don't take this feeling of freedom too far, of course - there should be limits.

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Nope. So why not take that time to relax, breathe, and reflect? Sometimes, being caught by the train is a good thing. It affords the opportunity to do that very thing. We hurry too much. We can't enjoy the scenery if we are rushing by at a mad pace. Life - a full life - should be about enjoying the scenery while making the journey.