I do not take anything for granted, and I live in the "here and now" - in the moment.
I worked at an average public job until I was forced to take disability due the compound effects of both age, wear-and-tear, and multiple birth defects.
What to do with the spare time? WHAT SPARE TIME ?!? I practice in my music studio 3 - 4 hours every day, I take care of the 5 family pets, and I am an advanced knitter. Historically, men have been some of the best knitters. While I had the opportunity, I bicycled back and forth across the state of Missouri 3 times - a total of 511 miles per trip.
I am blind in one eye, I have an artificially fused ankle, and my right arm is more than 4” shorter than my left arm. That did not stop me from becoming a photographer (www.MichaelJKellerPhotography.com), having 25 musical instruments in my studio, and bicycling over a quarter of a million miles before becoming disabled.
Even though I work hard daily to hone my talents and abilities, I do consider them a gift that was given to me. A deal was struck: “I have taken an eye from you, there is severe nerve damage in your right arm, and you will soon be in a wheel chair. These things have been done to you to open up your mind and spirit to the rest of the world. In return, I will give you a zest for life. I want you to try every cuisine on the planet. Go to every Fine Art Show. Go to as many local festivals as you can get to, and see twice as much of this world with one eye as those around you do with two. The other people that surround you have been given able bodies, and ample means to do the same thing. That is THEIR gift. If they choose not to use them, or if they choose to abuse these gifts, they will be held accountable.” The other part of the deal: I cannot wish ill on others.
My mind was given to me to create, to live and to explore - not to waste on people who never deserved it in the first place. An example: Jude Judy. If two litigants on her show start talking to each other, she will stop them and say, “Don’t talk to each other. You had the chance to do that while you were OUT of my courtroom. It is now MY turn to speak - don’t talk to each other!” I will do my best to avoid wasting energy on these people - I will let them talk to The Judge! I have other things to do with my time and energy. With the lone exception of watching only first-runs of the Martha Stewart Show (I have met her 3 times), the television in my home is not turned on until 7:00 PM, and at that time, I always have a knitting project in my hand, or my lap-top computer on my lap in the living room. I never ‘sit and watch TV’. What a waste of life! Time and energy are both limited, non-renewable resources. If you waste them, you will never get them back. You should be held accountable for any waste incurred.
Live your life as if it is a contact sport. Life is not a spectator sport. I many relatives who have the view that life is, indeed, a spectator sport. This is not a dress rehearsal, people. If anybody has ever came back from the ’beyond’ to tell you what life is like over there, you need to make an appointment for me, and direct them my way. Once it is over, it is over!
Here is the intro to “I Am What I Am” by Gloria Gaynor. It is the more rare spoken intro:
“It takes a lifetime to become the best that we can be…We have not the time or the right to judge each other… It’s one life, and there is no return and no deposit.. One life, so make sure you LIKE what is in your closet!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnGouhet2HQ
Hear! Hear!
- Michael
I worked at an average public job until I was forced to take disability due the compound effects of both age, wear-and-tear, and multiple birth defects.
What to do with the spare time? WHAT SPARE TIME ?!? I practice in my music studio 3 - 4 hours every day, I take care of the 5 family pets, and I am an advanced knitter. Historically, men have been some of the best knitters. While I had the opportunity, I bicycled back and forth across the state of Missouri 3 times - a total of 511 miles per trip.
I am blind in one eye, I have an artificially fused ankle, and my right arm is more than 4” shorter than my left arm. That did not stop me from becoming a photographer (www.MichaelJKellerPhotography.com), having 25 musical instruments in my studio, and bicycling over a quarter of a million miles before becoming disabled.
Even though I work hard daily to hone my talents and abilities, I do consider them a gift that was given to me. A deal was struck: “I have taken an eye from you, there is severe nerve damage in your right arm, and you will soon be in a wheel chair. These things have been done to you to open up your mind and spirit to the rest of the world. In return, I will give you a zest for life. I want you to try every cuisine on the planet. Go to every Fine Art Show. Go to as many local festivals as you can get to, and see twice as much of this world with one eye as those around you do with two. The other people that surround you have been given able bodies, and ample means to do the same thing. That is THEIR gift. If they choose not to use them, or if they choose to abuse these gifts, they will be held accountable.” The other part of the deal: I cannot wish ill on others.
My mind was given to me to create, to live and to explore - not to waste on people who never deserved it in the first place. An example: Jude Judy. If two litigants on her show start talking to each other, she will stop them and say, “Don’t talk to each other. You had the chance to do that while you were OUT of my courtroom. It is now MY turn to speak - don’t talk to each other!” I will do my best to avoid wasting energy on these people - I will let them talk to The Judge! I have other things to do with my time and energy. With the lone exception of watching only first-runs of the Martha Stewart Show (I have met her 3 times), the television in my home is not turned on until 7:00 PM, and at that time, I always have a knitting project in my hand, or my lap-top computer on my lap in the living room. I never ‘sit and watch TV’. What a waste of life! Time and energy are both limited, non-renewable resources. If you waste them, you will never get them back. You should be held accountable for any waste incurred.
Live your life as if it is a contact sport. Life is not a spectator sport. I many relatives who have the view that life is, indeed, a spectator sport. This is not a dress rehearsal, people. If anybody has ever came back from the ’beyond’ to tell you what life is like over there, you need to make an appointment for me, and direct them my way. Once it is over, it is over!
Here is the intro to “I Am What I Am” by Gloria Gaynor. It is the more rare spoken intro:
“It takes a lifetime to become the best that we can be…We have not the time or the right to judge each other… It’s one life, and there is no return and no deposit.. One life, so make sure you LIKE what is in your closet!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnGouhet2HQ
Hear! Hear!
- Michael
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