A friend of mine, Linda, who is a poet and writer, shared this poem with me. It was written by a Brazilian poet who lived from 1893 to 1945.  I am generally not a fan of poetry, however, this one has great meaning for my life. I wish to share a few of my thoughts.

MY SOUL HAS A HAT

by Mario de Andrade

 

I counted my years

& realized that I have

Less time to live by,

Than I have lived so far.

 

How often do we think about life? How often do we think about death? When and how it will come to greet us? Most of the time there is fear; often generated by past religious teachings about heaven and hell. At some point we are at the place where we have lived longer in the past then we will live in the future. How much time do I have left? How will we spend the remaining? More of the same or something new? Should we plan or just wait and see what happens?

Most of us do not know that thinking and planning our future really will influence what we experience. When I first heard this concept from Napoleon Hill, I was 28 years old. He claimed that if you thought about your desire in a precise way, you could create that outcome and you would eventually live it. At first, I thought he was crazy. My parents had taught us that you had to pray for what you wanted and then according to God’s plan you might get it or not. Your chances were better if you followed the rules, went to church, and were a good person. But you really did not have any control over that.

 

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure

But when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

 

This image was very powerful for me. I used to do exactly that. Save the last few candies in the box and really savor them with thoughts of enjoyment and pleasure rather than chewing rapidly and gulping them down as quickly as I could. Now I am doing that with the moments of my life. I had never really thought about it like that until I read this poem.

 

I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures &

internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience to stand absurd people who,

despite their chronological age, have not grown up.

 

I have begun to use discernment to determine which experiences in life I desire to live. I think about things ahead of time and decide not to live moments that will not give me joy. If I now find that I have not experienced happiness during an event, I practice a technique called ‘revision’ to replay the event in my mind, the way I would have preferred and feel that joy as if it had actually happened according to my desire. That way I have two memories of the event. One pleasant and one, not so. My brain automatically begins to minimize the unpleasant memory and maximize the pleasant, created memory. This allows me to store many more beneficial memories, have many more pleasant points of reference, and receive much better guidance for future decisions about what I prefer.

 

My time is too short: I want the essence; my spirit is in a hurry.

I do not have much candy in the package anymore.

 

No matter what your age, you might not know how much time you have left to experience life. Certainly, when we are older, we might think about this more and we might think that do not have much time left, but the young must understand this also.  At some level we all know how long we are going to live. Sometimes we get tired and give up and stop planning and preparing for the life we desired at one time. Often, we give up our dreams, thinking we can never achieve them anyway. Sometimes we think we have run out of candy. But if you know how, you can replenish the box with an unlimited supply of joy and sweetness.

 

I want to live next to humans, very realistic people who know how to laugh at their

mistakes, Who are not inflated by their own triumphs & who take responsibility for

their  actions.  In this way, human dignity is defended, and we live in truth and

honesty.

 

I agree. Integrity is a most important value that we can create within ourselves. Forget your past. From now on speak the truth and make what you say and what you do to be congruent and truthful. Make your word your bond and do what you say you are going to do or do more. If, for some reason, you cannot keep your word, let the other party know as soon as possible, in person, or a phone call. Do not leave phone messages or text message. Make your apology sincere and offer a replacement event that is better than your original plan.

 

It is the essentials that make life useful. I want to surround myself with people

who know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life have learned

to grow with sweet touches of the soul.

 

It is important that in our mundane, day to day lives, we are useful. We need to be part of the solution, not the problem. If you can work, do that job with enthusiasm as if it were your own business. Contribute. If you do not have a job, or cannot work, you can still bring joy to someone else’s life and therefore your own.

 

Yes, I’m in a hurry.

I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.

 

 

Make those remaining days of your life, productive, fun, joyful, fulfilled, purposeful, and contributing. Give what and where and when you can. Live your life as if you have no days to waste; you will be amazed at the satisfaction that you feel about your life well lived. For those workaholics in the crowd, remember this: When you do take time off, a vacation, a day just to read a book, or veg out on the beach or whatever, just give yourself permission ahead of time and enjoy that time to the fullest.

 

I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts.

I am sure they will be exquisite, much more than those eaten so far.

My goal is to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

 

This goal, to reach the end satisfied, with no regrets and at peace with ourselves and the ones we love, is a most outstanding goal. This should not only be the goal of our life, but the goal of each day. Because if we live each day like that, in the end we will find that we have lived our whole lives that way.

There is an easy way to live each day like that and here it is: At the end of each day, replay all the events of the day. Any event that does not make you smile and feel happy with how it went, should be revised simply by making up a new “memory” of what you wish would have happened during that part of your day. Doing this adjusts our biochemistry, reduces inflammation, restores our neurotransmitters, and brings us into harmony with ourselves. Some would say, “but that is not how it was, or it did not happen that way, so you are just lying to yourself.” We cannot physically change what happened, because that event is forever gone. However, we can change how the event affects us and our bodies. When we change the memory by revision to something better, it heals us and compels us to do better in the future. That is the only way we “learn from our mistakes” and move on to something better for us and the world around us.

 

We have two lives and the second begins when you realize you only have one.

 

We do have two lives. The first is what we have done so far. Our past. The second begins the moment you realize that you, your thoughts, your memories and your reaction to those memories are what are creating the rest of your life. Now the rest is up to you. Do not waste a sweet second of your life.

 

To understand more about how to create An AmaZing Life, read and study A Shortcut to Success or enroll in Be AmaZing Academy by Bob Huttinga PA-C.

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