My Dad ("Papa Herbivore") sent me this email on New Year's Eve last year. He had copied an article he found in the Old Town Lackawanna County newspaper and sent it to me. Although the article was titled "How to Stay Young," I quickly realized this was good life advice in general.
In a world where unsolicited advice runs rampant, I thought this — THIS is the basic, all-encompassing, short-and-sweet list of advice we all need. This is a minimalist's list for life advice!
I also realized I'd written about many of these topics in one way or another as part of this column.
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height. Let the doctors worry about them. This is why you pay "them"!
2. Keep only cheerful friends... The grouches pull you down. (MM: Removing Toxic People, Unhealthy Relationships)
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, cooking, whatever. Never let the brain idle. An idle mind is the devil's workshop. And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things. (MM: Get What You Want (Anti-Consumerism)
5. Laugh often, long, and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6.The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country — but NOT to where the guilt is. (MM: We Are Not the Worst Things We Ever Did (Letting Go)
10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity. (MM: Have More Meaningful Relationships)
