How to Have a Good Life

Yesterday I needed to get out of the house for a while so I went down to the CSA club to have lunch at the coffee shop.  I ran into a nice older gentleman there I had met once before.  He is half Egyptian, half Greek, and (as he says) half Christian, half Muslim.  He greeted me enthusiastically and invited me to sit down with him.  One of his good friends had recently died and he seemed to be in a mood to analyze life.  In the course of our two-hour conversation I received a good deal of advice on how to live the best life possible.  Some of it was thought-provoking and some was merely entertaining.  I've recorded the most memorable advice here for your enjoyment.

If you want to have a happy day do the following:

• When you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and focus on what is beautiful about you.
• Wear your favorite clothes.
• Do two things that you have been putting off.  You will be satisfied and proud of yourself.

Dealing with people who are troubled:

• If someone is bothering you, for instance driving too fast or not listening to your advice, try to understand that they may have trouble in their lives causing them to not pay attention.
• If ladies drive too fast it is probably because they have some trouble they have not gotten out. (I'm not sure why this one only applies to ladies!)
• If you have trouble in your life, the thing to do is to talk it out.  Then you can move on and be happy.  You should never tell someone, 'Don't talk about that'.  Just let them say it so they can be peaceful in their minds.
• Never argue about things.  Either you know more than the other person or you don't.  If they feel they must argue about something that you know more about, you won't be able to convince them through argument anyway.

Waking Up and Going to Sleep

• Meditate in the morning and ask God to be with you and give you strength.
• As you go to sleep at night, think of a happy memory.  You will relax and go to sleep without any pills.

Memories

• Create as many happy memories as you can.  When you are old you will appreciate having them to think over.
• It is always best to have someone to share your happy memories with- then they can have those memories too.  Talk about your memories with someone else so that you both can share them.

Three rules for living a long time:

• Avoid stress.  Don't discuss politics too often, try to forgive yourself for the bad things you may have done.  Remember that you have also done good things.
• Don't own a car.  You are much healthier if you walk everywhere and always take the stairs.
• Drink a little something in the evenings.  Not too much- just a little.