Age Schmage…….Money Schmoney! An Excellent Philosophy!
July 29, 2015 by admin · 1 Comment
DOES HOW OLD YOU ARE AND HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE REALLY COUNT? NOT SO MUCH!
Almost a year ago, I published this blog post and it bears repeating…… especially since I have, only recently, become a huge fan of an Entity called Abraham-Hicks, through a DVD that I borrowed from The Celebration, a non-denominational worship service that I’m attending here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Abraham channels through Esther Hicks and is certainly worth looking up on YouTube and checking out. This collective Entity on The Other Side reminds us of who we really are and what we have come to Earth to accomplish. I urge you to check out this Wisdom, as it is spot on!
Basically, Abraham’s Teachings remind us to always concentrate on The Positive aspects in our life and not to see anything in the negative. Just always being Positive, brings us into a Creational Vortex that’s always longing to reward us with what we need and ask for; but cannot do so if we complain about our current situation. Woops, after listening to this DVD, I realized that I was, in the previous blog, complaining about the beautiful sunlight and the fact that I was finally getting the long-needed eye surgery that will help me to see better. That’s sort of outside of the vortex that I need to be within. So, I’ll leave the evidence in the last post right here for all to see, and then, reprint this attitude about my life, which I think might be on the more positive side of things.
If what is really bugging me is that I am now becoming restless, and am eager to begin traveling again; well why not simply say so, and not fuss about what is currently my excuse for not sticking to business and writing more frequent blogs. Hey, it is what it is! Now, here’s the reprinted blog post. As true today as it was a year ago:
“Age Schmage,….Money Schmoney” was a book title I thought of a long time ago and never used. It doesn’t exactly explain itself, does it? And that’s the beauty of a title. Make it so intriguing that you lure the reader in and make him pick up your slim volume or keep reading on into your article. Or, increasingly in this day and age, your advertisement.
But, the reason I wanted to use that particular attitude in an autobiographical way, was that it does “Say it like it is” in justifying my particular lifestyle. And no, I’m not Jewish, but I love that succinct way of getting the point across with a dismissive flair of the hand or a telling facial expression. And the older I get….. and also, the poorer I get, if that were the case….is even more reason to carry such a happy-go-lucky attitude.
Here I am, less than a month before my 78th birthday, and I feel this truth more than ever. What does age have to do with it? Well, everything and nothing! You see, I’m weird. I’m a constant world-wanderer: always either on a long trip or planning one. I’m also weird because I talk constantly, internally, to The Holy Spirit (actually, I interview Him) and then I write books and blogs about it. See: www.insecretdiffusion.com.
Old Age has always been a universal basket to explain away odd behavior in an elderly person. Wandering away from home is another common appellation, dug up from that accusatory mindset. The thing is, I do wander away from home and then, write about my international adventures in books and blogs. There’s, obviously, no irresponsibility or Little Old Lady Leanings in any of them.
So, AGE is not causing this “Craziness!” Hence, the Age Schmage dismissal! In fact, the very act of constantly getting older, and yet, remaining the same, becomes a more and more rarified quality. I love to watch the eyebrows go up, when I mention that ever-changing factoid about myself.
And what about MONEY? Many people automatically assume that I must be rich, to be able to afford airfare and all my international expenses; to just be able to pack up and go, where and when I wish on the globe. But, that’s not so! I live on my Social Security alone and I live cheap, compared to most people. I’m a hosteller. I own only what fits inside of my two suitcases…..plus, some writing materials stored in the States.
I begin where most people hope they never wind up: HOMELESS! But, this is the true face of freedom!
You can’t have it all and these are choices I have made: No house. No car. No stuff No pets. My accumulation lies within my journal’s memories, filled with reports of adventures and friends collected along the way. I’m happy…..and my regular social security income helps me to stay that way….but is not the cause of it. I watch it carefully and don’t require too much of it…simply regular dole-outs from foreign ATMs. Plus, payments on a credit card used to charge online air purchases. Debit cards don’t work in that case.
And now, with shaky things predicted to be around the corner concerning our national economic future, I’m trying to get ahead of the curve. And, guess what? Lo and behold, I’m already practicing many recommended tactics: Such as:
“Get out of Dodge, while yet you can! Find a nice, inexpensive but beautiful, retirement land where the healthcare is good and the costs are not so high! Apply for a second passport to increase your options!”
Well, I’ve spent this past enjoying life in Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador, all of which fill that bill nicely and are on everyone’s advisory lists. Soon, I’ll check out Central American countries; also excellent candidates for living the good life without some of the homeland downsides; even concerning weather. Right now, I’m housesitting in New Mexico, which is a very win-win situation.
“Move your money into inflationary-free investments! Build a second income stream!”
I’m studying on that right now. And overseas is where the fingers point. All of a sudden, my journalistic, writerly qualities can turn investigative, because I’m on the cutting edge without even trying to be. I’m planning to attend another International Living Conference in Denver in September so that I can experience a global changing scene in a very “waterbugish” way, with Travel Writing and photography. I keep wanting to post my excellent photographs on money-making, perpetual-stream, photostock sites to generate a safety net, just in case social security gets downsized, someday. That’s been a long-term goal of mine. Maybe it will finally go beyond the talking stages.
Because nothing holds me down, it doesn’t harm me or dictate my life. I can shift on a whim and respond to the moment; just like a waterbug can, because it never breaks the surface tension. But, I’m also free to settle down with the right person, or in the right place, if I should choose to. How’s that for having choices? Shady or sunny? Mountains or Beachfront? Perpetual springtime, if I like!
Now do you see how the terms: “Age Schmage! Money Schmoney!” might just say it succinctly? And, a lot more positively than grousing about “too much light in my life!” Both terms have nothing and everything to do with me. That title was probably invented by some ancient Sage……unless, it was me, since I’ve never heard it before.
It’s not referring to your years or to your cash flow. It’s speaking of Freedom!
This photo was taken August 7, 2014, when I was one of the speakers at the monthly Writer’s In Transition public meeting. I read from my movie script for an animated children’s film called The Candlewick Question, about an alternate waxen universe, where the candle population believes that their wick is simply for making hairdos. The movie deals with the existential question: What is the purpose of the soul?
The Timely Conjunction of “Journey Of Souls” With A New Stage Of My Life
December 21, 2014 by admin · Leave a Comment
Rarely does life give us a peek at the 1-2-3 nature of the unfolding of a new stage of our existence; as mine is, apparently, providing me with now. Most often, life just oozes along with one setup leading undramatically into the next. I’m sure I wouldn’t have recognized the scene, either, if I hadn’t re-read a favorite book by Michael Newton, PhD, called Journey Of Souls, first published in 1995. Now, I must find his sequel, Destiny Of Souls and continue this comparison.
Solo world travel has been my identity for all of the past decade. I did have periods at home in Florida, and even some long-term responsibilities, while caretaking for my son; but the unfinished work of circling the globe almost never left the front burner. I was either writing about it or doing it.
I can’t call it over yet, obviously; but at least there has been a space of time, recently, when I haven’t merely considered myself simply home to repack suitcases. Now, I find myself deliberately postponing plans for another departure for about three years to allow myself time to morph into the Proper Age.
This is new! Previously, my philosophy has always been “to get out there while I still can!”
Okay, the book! How does that fit in? Michael Newton is a ground-breaking Past Life Regression Hypnotherapist and his subjects reveal the way it is on the Other Side, while preparing to enter a new body for a new life.
I just so happen to be preparing for my own past-life regression therapy next Tuesday, with a new Santa Fe friend, Jen Klarfeld, who has assigned some homework to get me into the proper mental framework. So, all thinking and reading is being done along those lines. Most people go into these therapies to identify aches and illnesses; to understand powerful human relationships affecting them; or to figure out why they entered this life in the first place. What is their overall purpose?
I have been fascinated with the careful planning, which all of us go through in the pre-life state; and the gentle anticipation that all souls have as they approach the inevitable moment of departure when they initiate that new and uncertain journey down here to Earth, a place of potential hardship, danger, adventure and joy. But, a place of exquisite advancement, as well.
Was it my pre-life agreement to circle the globe three times? I seem to have always had that plan in mind and now that the first two rings have been drawn… one in each direction….. you’d think I’d hurry to get the last one completed so that I could quit, for goodness sakes!
But no, it was always off in the future somewhere.
However, the arrival of 2015 has been my signal to initiate the early design process. Because, suddenly, I have the maps out again! I have a PLAN! And a THEME! Feels like pre-life planning, alright, and maybe that will be confirmed in next week’s regression.
I gain strength and optimistic hope from the fact that my body feels as young as ever. That leads to the natural conclusion that this good fortune will hold all the way to my 80th Birthday and well beyond. Which leads me to conclude that I could become a powerful voice countering the current thinking about Ageism, especially at a time when elderly minds and bodies are ravaged by somewhat unidentified robbers of mental acuity. Even bodies spared the intelligence vacuum are often left feeble and incapacitated in their latter decades.
What if I can win the lottery? After all, at 77 and counting, I’m still fully capable of non-stop, aggressive travel, planned and completely managed by my own self.
I do believe I shall take a chance and throw all my eggs into the big Hot Air Balloon Basket of “Around The World In 80 Years!” Let’s see what we can make of that!
So, visualizing this audacious idea from the far shore, is like putting together a new life on earth. I can take early steps to recruit key people to assist me. I can make the travel effort count by selling the plan to television reality show producers; by locating other Seventy and Eighty-year-old seniors, who refuse to fit the current, expected mold, to join me in showing the way.
I can beat the drum to enhance this ridiculously silly Audacious Octogenarianism idea and make people curious enough to want to watch and see how, (and if), we can pull it off.
I have a few years to fashion and mold this weird idea into something tangible. And then, just like Dr. Newton’s pre-life souls, I’ll fly into that strong little, keep-on-keepin’-on, body of mine and set out to be somewhere in Darkest Africa, humming “On the road again!”, to celebrate the Big 80th Birthday; before setting out to slog along some more, going all the way around the waistline of the world.
Tell me? Would you watch such a show? Week after week? To see where in the world is Waldo, now? Of course you would!
To Launch And Let Go
October 6, 2011 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
Life has its seasons. Sure, we all know about the broad ones where we move from childhood into youth. Then, when school no longer serves as a safe platform, we figure out how to make a living and are forced to do something about that in a pro-active way. Big changes, such as marriage and babies affect our lives in radical ways but, sooner or later, we land on some predictable conveyor belt and usually ride smoothly through maturity into old age.
That is, if we escape the exigencies of economic downturns or health crisis along the way. At least, the common stereotype still paints the picture of a settled retiree, surrounded by an accumulation of a lifetime; finally resting on their laurels and collecting on same through regular social security checks; enjoying a quiet life with cats, dogs and grandchildren playing happily around the kneecaps.
However, with the coming of the Boomer generation, Hummel figurines might be sold off in favor of RVs, motorcycles, and possibly even yachts. More and more, mobility itself becomes the passion of the aging adult….and I’m not talking about medical devices here. The call of the open road is being heard, loud and clear, by more and more senior citizens.
I count myself as a sort of a pied piper of this generation! They set the tone for me in the 1960’s by running around the world with backpacks, uncovering lush lagoons in Balinese island chains, when I was heavy with my first child and couldn’t consider such happy freedom. But, something of their example stuck and decades later, while those former hippies were running large corporations, I found myself free to emulate their early example.
“Whee!” said I, “This is easy!” and my cache was proving that it could be done on social security alone. Now, here I go again, at the stunning age of 74, to try my hand at hoisting my 85-liter backpack once more and setting out for more than a year, searching for those lost lagoons.
I’ve never owned a Hummel in my life but I’m shucking a lot of stuff that has accumulated in my personal space over the eight years I have lived in one place, since my last great move. In truth, I will cling to some things; mostly clothes and books and writing equipment and I will have a house to come home to; though no cars. So, looking about with only two weeks till fly day, I can appreciate all over again the wonderful reasons why a human being must be willing to let go of the objects of life and trade them for a wonderful freedom to roam around the planet, if that’s what you really want to do.
Time can’t be messed around with. You snooze, you lose! So, you have to let that brass ring go instead of hanging onto it. Just launch and see where your momentum takes you! “Whee! This is easy! I can do this!” Again and again and again.
After all, it’s only practice for the final Leap that we all must eventually make into the Great Unknown. Let go and launch!
WHY BOOMERS? BECAUSE THEY ARE THE OLD HIPPY BACKPACKERS OF YESTERYEAR!
July 20, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Raise your hand if you’re a Baby Boomer! What’s this I see, all across the American Blogoland?: Seventy-six-million hands waving in the breeze in answer to my yell of “Hey Boomers!” Now, what author wouldn’t want that kind of response? But, I have more valid reasons than just the dream of all those commercial sales. The Boomers NEED me right now and I am rushing to their aid.
Well okay, maybe not all Boomers. My own kids, born in 1963 and 1964, are technically included in that gigantic bubble of humanity created right after the last global war, but they don’t identify with the real Leading Edge Boomers who are just this year, at age 62, tiptoeing across the line of qualification for Social Security early retirement. By 2012, millions of them will be full-fledged retirees, wondering what to do with the rest of their still-youthful-feeling lives.
There’s always comfort in Botox and Viagra, but within their hearts lingers the nervous fear that a nursing home lurks somewhere across the great chasm that’s leaped when one starts receiving those doggone government checks. Pastures are for pansies, they say……..but how do they really know for sure? Where are their role models for dancing blithely through the daisy patch of old age, with nothing but the dole to pay your way? Right here, on this blogsite! That’s where! Me!!!! Read more
My New Parallel Universe – A Senior Business Startup – Blogging & Book Publishing
July 19, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
STARTING A NEW BUSINESS AS A SENIOR CITIZEN – BLOGGING ABOUT SOLO WORLD TRAVEL
This is Takeoff Day and, as always, I’m a little nervous and am filled with wonder and suspense as to how the trip will turn out. Though this blog is to be, primarily, about around the world travel, I’m speaking right now about launching out into the Blogosphere and learning to fly right here in public. One good thing is that I didn’t need shots; I have no luggage; and no costly airline tickets leading to long waits in lines, crying babies and carry-on snacks. Plus, this blog flies me everywhere at once, while I sit here at home. Neat! Your living room is my parallel universe. So are your thoughts. Let’s explore each other’s lives!
