GIVE YOURSELF A TREAT!

Take 5 minutes and watch this video.

Surprised by a camera at the gas pump, these two people make the most of it. They are having so much fun that it’s fun to watch them.

You know that saying “you had to be there.” That’s the case with this video. I can’t fully describe it and the good news is you can see it for yourself.

This couple is such a great example of living life fully and saying yes to life, it makes me smile just to remember them. I think you’ll love them as much as I do. I bet they’ll make you smile and maybe even laugh.

The first video shows them at the gas pump, the second is of the amazing experience they have after the gas pump.

Have you ever wanted to write your life story? To turn your memories into a memoir?

Whether you want to celebrate something you did or understand (and perhaps even heal from) a difficulty you’ve experienced, writing about your life can be transformational.

So many people who want to write about their lives never get started or, if they manage to start, never finish.

In today’s guest post, memoir professional Denis Ledoux shares eight of his best tips to help you get your memoir written.

Eight Tips for Memoir Writing

Your stories are weighing heavy. You so much want to tell them, but the burden of unloading them seems too heavy, so much so, that you hesitate to begin. You have so much to share with the world, your legacy of a lifetime well lived, deserves a voice — your memoir is waiting you.

Memoir writing can be demanding. Too many people start out with enthusiasm about preserving the story of their lives. At the onset, they are so persuaded they will write their story. But in the months that ensue, too many would-be memoirists lose energy.

To help you to write your memoirs more prolifically -and even bring them to a finish in the form of a published memoir- I offer these suggestions to help you succeed.

1. Set up a regular writing time. How long you write is perhaps not as important as how frequently you do so. Once you have set up a writing time, honor it as you would a medical appointment. Don’t allow others to usurp your time!

2. Give yourself permission to write a rough first draft. Perfectionism is not a virtue at this stage. You are writing for volume. Your job now is to get the chronology and the action written. Quality will enter in later. Once you have ample text you can do a rewrite. It is in the rewriting that the memoir will really come together.

3. Start anywhere in the story you feel like writing about on any given day and keep writing as long as possible. If the topic that interests you changes on the next day, write about the new story line even if you haven’t finished the previous one. You are connecting to your muse at this point! Writing is always most quickly realized when you are enthusiastic about your topic.

4. Once you have a number of stories or story segments, print them out and collate them in a three-ring binder according to chronological order. Write the missing links (aka the transitions) between the texts that you have already written. You will see your stories form a thick collection. This will encourage you to continue writing.

5. Read memoirs critically to learn as much as you can from other writers. This process is called “reading as a writer.” It’s similar to an apprenticeship — a time honored means of acquiring skills and confidence.

6. Commit to reading how-to write books, take a class, seek coaching. A professional can create many shortcuts for you. It is possible to acquire skills on your own, but it will take longer. The longer it takes to write your memoir, the more chances you have of becoming discouraged.

7. Once you have gone through your story several times, work with an editor. A professional editor can help spot problems that have become invisible to you and help you to write your way through difficulties.

8. Create an end date (publication) as a stimulus to keep writing. Tell people about this publication date. It has often been observed that tasks take as long as the time we allot to them.

Whatever you do, once you begin, just keep writing.

Denis Ledoux, experienced Memoir Professional, offers you loads of free memoir-writing materials–articles, reports, MP3s, e-books, newsletter subs. To claim your copies, visit the website www.TheMemoirNetwork.com

Erma Bombeck’s If I Had My Life to Live Over was first published in December of 1979. Since then it’s been posted on refrigerators, copied and shared with friends, and widely distributed online and off.

I’ve seen versions of this piece many times and you probably have too. I came across it again recently and thought it was worth another look at this stage of our lives.

Below is Bombeck’s original version. Read it and see if there’s anything you want to change about your life NOW. It’s not too late!

If I Had My Life to Live Over

Someone asked me the other day if I had my life to live over would I change anything.

My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.

If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I’d have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the “good” living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored.

I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television … and more while watching real life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband which I took for granted.

I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for a day.

I would never have bought ANYTHING just because it was practical/wouldn’t show soil/ guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now, go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more I love yous … more I’m sorrys … more I’m listenings … but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it … look at it and really see it … try it on … live it … exhaust it … and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.

What About You?

What do you think of this? What would you like to do differently in your life?

We live in unsettling times. Maybe people always have. Perhaps they always will.

In recent years, we’ve seen an economic crash, devastating school shootings, horrifying bombings in public spaces, and so much more.

Many people in their 60s and beyond have had their retirement dreams shattered and struggle now to find desperately needed jobs.

All that in addition to the usual challenges and losses that come with aging!

It’s no wonder many of us are feeling uncertain, afraid, confused, stressed, overwhelmed, or depressed.

Sometimes it does seem as though the sky is falling, Chicken Little!

In this midst of all this, it wouldn’t be surprising if you are focusing more and more on the negative stuff, which unfortunately generates more negativity and leads to additional fear, stress, and overwhelm.

Plus when you become so frightened about the future, it’s natural to either freeze and not take action at all or to panic and take foolish action.

So how can you stop this downward spiral?

Choose joy!

“Choose joy?” you may be sputtering, “How the heck can I choose joy with all the awful stuff that’s going on?”

Well, the stock market goes up and it goes down. Some people do very bad things. The seasons of life include winter as well as spring.

And life is still sweet. Being alive is still a gift and a miracle.    Plus, as a Chinese proverb states, “One joy scatters a hundred griefs.”

In the midst of these trying times, isn’t it all the more important to choose joy?

An article in the Seattle Times put it this way, “One hour of joy can erase many hours of stress.”

Yes, it would be nice if the world behaved just as we wanted it to. And it would be lovely not to have stress at all.

But if the world isn’t behaving as you’d like — and when does it? — and if you do have stress — and who doesn’t? — joy is an amazing antidote.

Joy lifts you up in the moment and its effects linger.

I had a reminder of this a while ago when I spent an evening playing, laughing, and cuddling with my great-nephew, Lucas. At the time he was about 20 months old and completely adorable. I love toddlers so this was a dose of pure joy for me.

Days later just thinking of this time with Lucas made me smile. Those few hours of joy provided great medicine for my heart, spirit, and immune system.

In Your Life

If you’ve had enough of feeling afraid, unhappy, overwhelmed, and stressed by personal, national and world events, let joy scatter your grief and erase your stress.

What brings you joy? What connects you with your love for life? Spend more time doing that. Take at least an hour a week (more time is even better!) to do something for no other reason than the sheer joy of it.

Joy will nourish and nurture you. You’ll feel better and you’ll then be able to see and think more clearly, make better choices for yourself, and take action that serves your best interests.

You may be surprised by how much difference a little joy can make!

Enjoy!

What About You?

What brings you joy? How do you erase your stress? Tell us in Comments below.

Want 76% more from Social Security?

In  Your Retirement Checklist by the Decade,  well known financial advisor Suze Orman recommends you “play the waiting game.” The longer you wait the bigger your benefit will be.

If you wait till full retirement age (between 66 and 67 depending on when you were born), to start taking your SS benefits, your check will be 25-30% higher than if you start at 62.

Wait till 70 and your benefit will be 76% higher than at 62.

Orman says you could take the benefit early and invest the money but there’s plenty of risk involved in getting those returns. On the other hand, Social Security’s benefits for delaying are 100% guaranteed. Plus the higher payouts are adjusted for inflation once you start to take the benefits which can really boost your income later in life, when you need it most.

I am not offering financial advice here. I am suggesting that that if you haven’t already done so, it’s worth taking the time to check out your Social Security options and see what’s best for you. See  Why You Want to Become a Social Security Genius  for resources to help you do this.

Take a few minutes and treat yourself. Watch this video of  4 year old Jonathan conducting Beethoven. I think he will amaze and amuse you. Plus Jonathan is a fabulous example of what happens when you do what lights you up.

It was a clear, sunny, spectacular afternoon in January. The kind of day that had been all too rare for weeks in the Pacific Northwest.

As usual, I had a list of things to get done that day. Denny, my husband, was hard at work on three client projects.

Seize the Moment

But that day, we decided to seize the moment.

We ditched all the obligations, chores, and tasks and allowed ourselves to take a “beauty break.” Grabbing coats, scarves, gloves, mud boots, and a camera, we headed out for a drive in nature’s beauty.

Just 10 Minutes Away

Snow glistened on Mount Baker in the background. The winter red of blueberry bushes carpeted the foreground. Red barns dotted the landscape. Blue water sparkled in the flooded fields.

We sat by a field with dozens of trumpeter swans. Rolling down the car window and hearing their honking cacophony, I realized why they were named “trumpeters.” Beautiful as they are, the sound is incongruous and it made me laugh out loud.

We watched a field full of snow geese for 15 minutes or so. Then magically and magnificently, they flushed. Nearly instantaneously hundreds of birds flew into the sky, shimmering as the sun caught their white bodies.

We didn’t know why they had suddenly risen from the ground until we saw the eagle at the back of the pack.

All this happening so close over our heads we were lucky not to have had bird droppings fall on us!

Time Best Spent

After an hour or two of this beauty break, I felt deeply restored, filled to overflowing with joy and well-being.

It would have been easy for me to have missed this, to have stayed at life’s tasks and missed life’s beauty. I’m so glad I chose a beauty break instead.

What about you?

What beauty speaks to you? Are you making time to pay attention to it? To soak it in?

Taking time to savor the beauty around and near you is one of the best ways of feeding yourself and creating joy in your life. I hope you take  these kind of “beauty breaks” often!

“What do I do with all the ‘stuff’ I’ve accumulated?”

“How do I downsize my home given my attachment to my belongings?”

Recently there’s been a lot of conversation in the Savoring Your Sixties’ community about these questions.

You can read more about that conversation and get  8 Great Tips for Downsizing after 60 here.

For a completely different perspective on “things,”  look at the  Portraits of Refugees Posing with Their Most Valued Possessions.

These portraits and their captions tell of women, men, and children forced to flee their countries and their homes, able to take only what they could wear or carry in their hands.

In these dire (and unimaginable to most of us) circumstances, they were asked what one thing was most precious to them. The photographer poignantly captured their responses.

I share this because I was so moved and humbled by these portraits. They awakened compassion in me. They put into perspective how minor my struggles are. They helped me to be grateful for all the abundance I have, abundance that is easy to take for granted in the part of the world in which I live.

I hope you are touched by these photos too. No need to make yourself feel bad or wrong about your own abundance or any struggle you have with letting go of your things. Just allow your heart to be touched by the people in these portraits.