TB's shoulder still bothers him and he's having some pain in his neck, maybe a gland. I'm still driving all over the place but I'm taking a break from that stuff and not writing about it.
What are your five rules for living happy?
1. The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
Even if all people don?t reciprocate, there are enough that do to make the effort worthwhile. It?s not going to make me happy if I am nasty to people, even to car salesmen. Negative energy just brings on more negative energy. It just doesn?t feel good.
Meanwhile, if I?m nice even to someone who?s nasty to me I can get double satisfaction. When you?re nice to someone nasty it unsettles them. Good energy brings about more good energy. I'm not the one with all the agita then.
Maybe people can learn. If I treat them the way I?d like to be treated hopefully they?ll come around.
2. Don?t worry about the Joneses
I notice that some people feel like they have to compete with family members or neighbors. They?re not happy if they feel like someone is ?one up? on them. So maybe they convince themselves they need a new car too. Well, what if they can?t afford the same kind of car? Or what if the neighbor goes out and trades up to a new, better one?
I think we?re a lot happier if we can be satisfied with what we?ve got. Sure, it would be great to have that sailboat but I don?t have the money for it. It?s nice when the neighbor?s got the money to get a good sailboat. But I don?t want to run out and spend money I don?t have just to buy a sailboat too.
3. Stick together
I?m not just thinking parenthood here although that is a big part of it. I?m thinking that sticking together with loved ones makes you happy because you aren?t all alone dealing with something. The first thing I can think of, of course, is parenting. Kids like to play one parent against the other. If they divide and conquer then not only are the two parents battling separately alone they are also battling each other. That is totally not good. Once you turn on each other, the battle is sort of lost.
But what about the family outside the house? It seems to me if the family members stick together and stand up for each other no one worries about being picked on or made sport of. It?s nice to know that someoneis in your corner against the outside world ? even if it?s just a brother or a sister.
4. Laugh everyday
This rule is all about mental health too. Sometimes so many bad things happen at one time you just feel like you?re going to go under. It?s all too overwhelming. That?s why we need to laugh ? and probably cry, too. It?s very therapeutic. Your brain and body releases all sorts of toxins and natural tranquilizers to soothe us ? but that doesn?t kick in until you laugh ? and maybe cry.
5. Don?t take yourself too seriously
This is totally the best. As soon as the expectations come down, you can relax and have a lot more fun. We tend to be too hard on ourselves and too unforgiving. I know I was that way. Now I just want to lighten up! So what if I don?t get to 50,000 words. It?s not the end of the world! And then I can laugh.
1. Do you believe that there was one single shooter (Lee Harvey Oswald) or do you lean more towards the conspiracy theories? What is your view and thoughts?
I find it hard to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I think he was set up to take all the blame but I think he was part of a plot. I?m not sure who the others were, but they seemed to have a lot of money. I have to admit I was convinced about a plot when I read about that ?magic? bullet ? the one that supposedly passed through both President Kennedy?s and Governor?s Connolly?s bodies and was found in pristine condition on the stretcher. I thought there might be two shooters because of the trajectory of the bullets and the wounds.
I read a lot of the details and theories in different books, most especially the one written by Jim Garrison. I?m not sure if Garrison?s book is the one I read and learned that X-rays or part of the autopsy was missing. There was a section dealing with the deaths of all or almost all the witnesses around the assassination. I remember I was reading so many different books I was having nightmares about the whole thing. I decided I was becoming too obsessed and I stopped reading any of the books. I was only 15 years old at the time, too young to be thinking of all that stuff.
There?s several websites that has more information about Jim Garrison. One is here: The Jim Garrison Investigation
2. Do you believe in any other theories or conspiracies? (ie Aliens, Etc)
I don?t think our government officials have been as honest as we might like to think. I think there are issues and events that have been ?covered up? for one reason or another.
Stephen Spielberg had a miniseries on that is being re-run on the Sci-Fi channel right now. It?s called Taken and it?s about three generations of families affected by ?the visitors? (aliens). I could see something like that happening.
So while I think that there might be other things out there being covered up, I?m not having specific feelings about who or what it might involve.