The Truth As I See it

So . . .  I’ve been visiting condos that are for sale.  And, I’ve been bargaining with my landlord for a fair purchasing price.  I’ve talking to banks about mortgage rates.  So, yes, I’ve decided to buy as opposed to renting again!

Want to know the reason why?  It’s because when you own where you live, you’re not at the mercy of your landlord’s whim.  If they want to sell, they can do so at the end of your lease and you’re left scrambling to buy or rent something else so you have a place to live - and a roof over your head. 

If you rent, the same thing can happen to you in another year - and really, do you want to experience that again?  I don’t think so.

If you have ever rented a condo or an apartment, you may know what it feels like when you get word: ‘the owner wants to sell and you need to leave!’

This is what has happened to me over the weekend.  Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you!  Your comfort level plunges!  So, the next step becomes - what do I do now - what are my options?

If I look for another condo and continue renting, I could be letting myself in for a similar event a year or so down the road.  And, I don’t want that!  Once is enough.

So, the other alternative is to buy.  Yes, ownership has its downside, but it also has its upside.  I don’t have to tell you what one of the upsides is.

I have heard people say - I would never retire, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!

In response to that, I would say - you’ve got to be kidding!  From my own experience, I’ve been retired approximately 4 weeks, and let me tell you, it’s terrific!  I’ve never been happier, more at ease, slept better, and so glad I’ve left the ‘wired world’ to go on without me.

To be retired is to have time - that precious commodity that seems to elude us all when we are in the working world.

I have time to eat, sleep, and do all of the activities I haven’t had time for in years.  Retirement puts a whole new outlook on life - and it’s a good one.

The other day, I saw The Black Swan.  It’s absolutely riveting, terrifying, OMG, this is not happening, etc.  It’s one of the rare movies you won’t forget any time soon afterward.

It’s about a prima ballerina and the desire to be ‘perfect’. That’s what gets the star performer into big trouble.  But, that’s a whole other topic - if you’re trying to be perfect, try to be something else! :-)

Here’s my comment: why is it that only the female dancers wear ballet slippers - and not the men dancers.  Ballet slippers are not slippers!  We think of slippers as incredibly comfy soft shoes that you would wear all the time.  If you could wear them outside, or in the workplace, most people would.

Ballet slippers, on the other hand, do not seem suited for human feet  Somehow, ballerinas manage to fit all five toes into the front of the shoe and then balance on it.  OUCH!!

If you are in a happy marriage, lucky you!  Enjoy those great years and your mate. :-) Your marriage works!

But, when marriage doesn’t work, there are 2 options - either stay in the marriage and muddle through for the rest of your life, or you take the plunge and opt-out into the land of the unknown.

Many choose to stay in a broken marriage because of fear of the unknown and the thought of being alone is nothing less than terrifying. 

As an individual who has experienced both ends of this dilemma, my suggestion is to get out of the marriage even though it scares the hell out of you!  Because, if you don’t, you are setting yourself up for a life-long sentence of unhappiness.

When I was a child in elementary school, we went outside to play after school.  All of the kids on the block came out to play – 10 - 25 at a time. There was no adult supervision.  We simply ran outside after we changed from school clothes into play clothes and began to play what the majority agreed on.

Sometimes the boys played baseball in the street.  They stopped only when a car went by.  There was a non-verbal agreement, that when a car drove up the street in the middle of a play, it was a do-over.  Nobody argued the point – it was how it was.

Sometimes the girls played dolls and cut-outs on someone's porch. Each girl had their own scissors, or, if not, we shared if we needed to.

At times, everyone played kickball in the street.  Once again, 'street rules' applied.

If there was a disagreement as to who was 'safe' and who was 'out', we argued it out until a decision was reached.  There was lots of yelling and 'making a case' for one's side, but eventually, it all got sorted out and play resumed. Once again, there was no adult supervision.

In the summer, we would be gone for hours at a time, riding our bikes many miles away from our homes exploring whatever seemed interesting – no matter where it took us.  I'm still not sure how we found our way back home on those days.  

At other times, we laid on the grass and looked at the clouds – each one describing what we thought we saw.  

Those were very carefree days – I just didn't realize it at the time.  

Today, it seems so many of a child's waking hours are taken up by school and lessons of one type or another – so much so that from morning until bedtime, there is a strict schedule of activities.  

It’s always interesting to me why people have decided to believe in one and pay the other.

It seems we don’t have much choice with the latter, but we do with the former. 

Like taxes, God is a man-made creation.  We know this because before people came to be in existence, there was no god.  Plants and animals were here many years before we happened, and they don’t have [or need] a God to exist. Yet, they know exactly what they need to do to live ‘a good life’ - to thrive and survive. 

Thank about it.  Are you a victim of your environment?  Do you watch TV programs one after the other - for hours at a time?  Do you watch commercial after commercial until you finally start believing in the drugs that will ‘maintain’ your illness?

Foodwise - are you in step with most everyone in the U.S or with about 10% of the population?   Do you read ingredient labels?  Do you care what you eat?  If you read labels like I do, you know that 85% of the food in the supermarket is really not food - it's more like food bi-products?  The longer the list of ingredients, the more red flags should go up!  They do for me.  I'm really very careful about what i ingest in my body, because I believe that everything we eat counts.

I'm not saying that you never should have something that you really crave - like M&Ms, ice cream, fries, etc.  But, have them as a treat - not a daily occurrence.

Hi, Chuckette here with another thought:

Marriage - in the good ol' days - was considered the institution that everyone strived for - especially women, because in the good ol' days, women could not support themselves and had to rely on the husband financially for a variety of reasons.  There was no birth control, no abortion, no day care, etc. and if a woman got pregnant, she stayed home and cared for the new child as well as the rest of the family.  And, of course, she had to be content doing just that.

Marriage today is quite different.  Women have almost as many job and financial opportunities as men and don't have to rely on their husbands as the family bread winner.

Ergo, is marriage still the institution that it was?  I think not.  For one thing, how can one commit to a contract that has the phrase - 'Til death do us part' when this agreement is usually entered into at a fairly young age.

How would one know if as a union both parties will grow together through the years or grow apart. That's why we may want to amend the marriage contract and bring it up for review every 5 years.  At that point, after negotiations are completed, both parties can decide whether they want to sign up for another 5 years.

Hi, Chuckette here.

Remember the movie called 'The Bucket List'?  Part of that movie really intrigued me - the part where they talked about the following:  if you could know the exact date of your death, would you want to know it?  94% of the people who were asked this question, said, 'no way' would I want to know this piece of information.  It's just too scary to handle.

I, for one, would want to know.  If for no other reason, planning.  If I knew when I would be taking the 'big nap', I would plan my life and activities accordingly.  For example, if I knew I had 30 more years to live, I would make sure - or as sure as I could - to plan financially ahead so I would be comfortable throughout all the years.

However, as to how I would feel when that day actually arrived, would I try to make my demise not happen?  Try to fool the universe?  Just succumb to it.  Not sure.  It certainly would prove to be a day of heightened anxiety - that's for certain.  :-)

Universal Truth vs Religious Truth!  That's where it's at today - and that's where the world has gone wrong.  Religion is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind!  There is no truth in religion because a 'real truth' has to be true for EVERYONE not just for some.

Religious truth is the truth for those who believe in that religion, not for those who don't and that makes it not true.  That type of truth applies to those believers.  So, how can it be true if it's only true for some?

Are you open to universal truth?  You can call universal truth God if you like, but you can't call God universal truth - not if religion is involved.

What do you think about that?