During the year, our newspaper published some sage advice from Peggy Oakes, who was celebrating her 100th birthday, in Lutz, and we published an inspirational poem by Steve Melton, a cowboy poet.
We share them again, here, to help ring in a New Year.
Advice for daily life
- Practice gratitude: When you don’t have gratitude for what you have, there is
no foundation to build on. You will continuously be filling a hole that can never befilled. But, when you are thankful for what you have, as you accomplish and gain, itwill overwhelm you with happiness.
- Be happy NOW: Dreaming of a beautiful future has its place, but it will forever be
a dream unless we learn how to be happy in our present.
- Be rich in self-worth: We are all worthy of a good sense of self-esteem. Learn to
know that you are more than a moment in your life. Learn that you have skills that others do not. Learn that you hold power in your life. Learn that others depend on you.Learn that you are loved. Learn that you deserve to love yourself, and then love yourself. Then you will be well on your way to true wealth.
- Build your awareness of wants vs. needs: We’ve all done it — bought something
expensive, and then ended up with buyer’s regret. Understanding what actually fits into your life and knowing that purchase is going to return its value to you is an importantskill to develop.
- Don’t cling to money worries: Worrying about money is an addiction that keeps you from focusing on what else is going on in your life. When you are truly struggling with money, it is understandable that it would cause worry. But, what so many of us do is we go through a period in our life where money is scarce, then we hold onto the fear of that moment long after it has passed. Even those who accumulate financial wealth often continue to worry about making sure their money is enough — and they end up missing out on the joy in their life! Learn to allow fear into your life when it is helpful, then recognize when it is no longer serving you and let it go.
Author Peggy Oakes celebrated her 100th birthday on on Sept. 17, 2020.
The Porch of Peace
by Steve Melton
Come now, pull up a chair, on the porch of peace.
Stay and rock awhile, let your worries cease.
We’ll tell a few stories, maybe a joke or two.
It’s good to be together when the day is through.
Feel the gentle breeze as it blows
from east to the west.
It carries away the heat and your cares,
It makes you feel at rest.
We’ll watch the sun go down,
see the sky turning red
Stop thinking about your troubles, before we go to bed.
Stop. Listen to the quiet.
We don’t hear that much anymore.
We need to hear it more often,
It gives our hearts and minds time to restore.
Next time you are in the area, please stop and stay awhile
The porch of peace will leave you
with a smile.
Published December 30, 2020
