GBE 20: Things this old man has learned about life

The GBE #20 prompt is "LIFE" or "What one small thing could've changed your life forever?"

Things this old man has learned about life

I wish I could say that I have learned something new for every day of my life. Maybe I have, but I really don't remember all of them.
I would like to say that I could list one thing I have learned for every year of my life. Maybe I could, but that would be like 70 things. That would be much too long for a blog.
So, with that in mind, I am merely going to mention the big ones that come to mind first. While some of these are very cliché, there is a reason clichés become clichés.

Life is not fair.
Contrary to TV sitcoms and dramas. Real life does not neatly wrap itself up in half hour or hour increments. Most if the time problems takes days, months, years, and sometimes a whole life time to reach a resolution. Usually it just leaves you hanging there wondering “What the Hell was that all about?”
The good guy does not always win. If life were fair, all the assholes and mean beans would have a very short life span. “Oops, your bad.” ZAP!
Instead, a lot of them wind up running our companies, our government, and our lives. Meanwhile, some really kind hearted people lead lives of deep desperation.
All you can do is treat others like you would like to be treated, and hope the game of life doesn’t kick your ass. Even when it does, your only recourse is to get up and try again.

Life does not owe you a damn thing.

 It is easier to do nothing, than to attempt anything at all.
It just is. You may never get anywhere or do anything, but it is always easier than trying. Don’t expect life to hand you anything. Unless you were born rich, you are going to have to make your own life happen. Decide what you want. Make a plan. Do it. Which brings us to:

Hope for the best, plan for the worst, work with the changes.
The best thought out plans can sometimes take sudden and unexpected turns towards disastrous results. History, and the evening news, are full of these occurrences.
Try to think things through, consider all the bad things that could happen, and make a plan that you think will get you to your desired end result. Follow that plan and hope it works.
When they don’t go the way you thought they would, take a moment and think of the best way to utilize the changes. Then try to enjoy the result, even if you couldn’t do it exactly the way you had originally envisioned it.

You can do anything with just three things:
Time, determination, and money. Unfortunately, most of us are lacking in at least one of those ingredients for success.

When things are really bad, they can only get better.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse, they sometimes do. At some point they HAVE to get better. As the Doors sang “Well, I've been down so Goddamn long, that it looks like up to me”. Even if it’s a tiny bit of happiness, enjoy it, hold on to it, because the reverse is also true;

If things are going great, it won’t last.
Just won the lottery? Business going great? Don’t get cocky. Meet the tax man, or all your new, desperately needy friends, and that new cut throat competitor.
Again, enjoy the good times for all they are worth.

Love will find you when you least expect it or are least prepared for it.
The search can be long and frustrating. Sometimes just showing up for life is all it takes to fall in the right direction. Love will usually find you after you have stopped looking and find something else to fill your time.

People are basically the same.
Color, religion, and politics don’t really matter. For the most part, we all want the same kind of things. The main thing that really affects people is an abusive or hopeless environment, or the drugs they come in contact with.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
The person that complains the most, usually gets pacified first. But sometimes that squeaky wheel just gets replaced. Let your thoughts be known if it is important to you, but don’t constantly complain about everything.

Things usually happen for a reason.
It may not seem like it at the time. In fact, you may not be aware of the reason for years. In some cases you may never know. But there is usually a reason. It may have even been your own fault.
Occasionally though, there is no rhyme, reason, or even the slightest bit of sense. Shit just happens.

Use it or loose it.
The mind and body need constant exercise. If you don’t use it, muscles turn to flab, and the brain turns to mush. In most things, lots of practice will make you pretty good at just about anything. I’m sure the same goes for sex. You just can’t get enough practice for some things.

Don’t do things half assed.
If you are going to do something, or anything, give it all you’ve got. Otherwise you will never be completely satisfied with the results, and may even wonder why you bothered in the first place.

Life and Karma have a wicked sense of humor.
Try to live a life that keeps them on your side. There is a ying yang full circle of kismet floating around that is just looking for a reason to mess with you.

It’s easier to tell the truth than to remember lies.
Unless you have an exceptionally good memory. I don’t, so I usually tell the truth…or at least some semblance of the truth.

Things that appear to be simple, rarely are.
And you never realize it until well after you have committed yourself to the task.

Nothing in life is totally black and white.
There are always shades of gray, several sides to any story, and most of the time, hidden agendas.

Life is short. Eat dessert first.
You may choke on the brussel sprouts and never get to taste life‘s real goodies.

Arguing and fighting rarely accomplish anything.
Except that is usually pisses everybody off even more. Agree to disagree...and then do whatever you felt like doing in the first place. Which brings us to:

It’s better to apologize than to ask for permission.
At least you’ll get to do whatever it was you wanted to do.

The older you get, the more staying home seems like the best plan.

I thought when I retired I would travel (and photograph those places). I thought I would get back to painting, drawing, and/or rebuild my HO scale train layout. The sad truth is, health and money can limit a lot of options. After all these years, my home is just the way I want it. My health ain’t what it used to be and inflation has seriously raced ahead of what I am willing to spend. Comfort is hard to leave.

Well. That was a long! Maybe I did learn something every day!

Got any words of wisdom to add?