Community Bank Consulting Blog

Life - Love - Passion - Abundance

My friend Jeannette Paladino lost her husband a few months ago.  Jeannette and I met this year through a class on blogging taught by Bea Fields.

Jeannette is a gifted writer.  She prepared the following blog post celebrating the life of her late husband Charles.  I was so moved by the post that I decided to share it.

Wishing you a life of love, passion and abundance!

Jeff

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I wrote this blog after Charles' memorial service.  I hope you enjoy knowing more about my wonderful  husband's passion for life.

Jeannette Paladino

               What I Learned From My Husband About Having a Passion for Life

October 8, 2009

This is going to be a very personal blog to celebrate my husband Charles.  My beloved passed away a week ago, but his lasting legacy will be his passion for life, especially for family, books and music.

What I admired most about him was his zest for learning.  Once he became interested in a topic, he would become passionate about learning everything he could about it:  printing, typography, arctic exploration, and military history were just a few of his interests.  His passion extended to the interests of friends, too.  Once he learned what you were passionate about, he would pepper you with letters, articles, and books on the topic.  His friends would say, “please don’t go out of your way for me.”

But the truth was, they were doing him a favor because he loved the “hunt.”  He once told me he could literally feel his fingers tingle when he entered an antiquarian bookstore and he approached the stacks.   He knew most of the books by their spines.

I learned from Charles how important it is to be passionate about life, your friends, the arts and your life’s work.  Passion is what makes life so endlessly interesting and what makes us interesting to others.   Thank you, Charles, for teaching me this great lesson of life.

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The Potential to Turn a Life Around by Leo Buscaglia

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."



George Carlin on Aging... plus some thoughts from me

I normally use this blog to share information on success, business, success in business, etc.

This week I was called to perform one of my duties of citizenship.  I was called to serve on a jury.

I was not at all offended by serving as a juror; I even admit to being happy to be chosen to serve.

Jury duty reminded me that we put lots of energy into things that are ultimately unimportant.  The case I heard took 2 1/2 days and there were 27 people in the courtroom.  The dispute had been going on for three years, and it involved approximately $7,000.

Today, I am going to use my voice on the internet to share the thoughts of George Carlin... and to remind myself and others to focus on the things in life that really are important.

Enjoy!

Jeff Simpkins

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well perserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '...holy (smoke)... what a ride!"

Enjoy the ride.  There is no return ticket.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids?  If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are your?"  "I'm four and a half!"  You're never thirty-six and a half.  You're four and a half, going on five!  That's key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back.  You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?"  "I'm gonna be 16!"  You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!  And then the greatest day of your life!  You become 21.  Even the words sound like a ceremony.  YOU BECOME 21.  YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30.  Oooohh, what happened there?  Makes you sound like bad milk!  He TURNED; we had to throw him out.  There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling... What's wrong?  What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.  Whoa!  Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away.  Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone...

But wait!!!  You MAKE it to 60.  You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70!  After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.  And it doesn't end there.  Into the 90's, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens.  If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again.  "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers.  This includes age, weight and height.  Let the doctors worry about them.  That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends.  The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning.  Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio.  Never let the brain die.  "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."  And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
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 lives is ourselves.
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 countyr but NOT to where guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Thanks to my friend Grace Frye for sharing this with me at the perfect time.  Grace is responsible for bringing two to the most joyful and loving things in my life to me... my dogs Patches and Lea.