Have you ever gave much thought on what to do during your remaining life?

[ChrissyRyan]

Have you ever gave much thought on what to do during your remaining life?

What you must do, where you may wish to travel, and who to talk with to clear any issue up.
Oh there are many things you can do to be closer to people and to God, as opposed to the trivial in life. 

What do you want to do, and do you think you can?


Hugs,


Chrissy

[Susan]

Chrissy, your post asks the kind of question that nudges us out of autopilot and back into intentional living. It is easy to get swept up in routine and lose sight of what matters. The older I get, the more I value authentic connections and experiences over accumulating things.

Framing it as "the remaining life" has shifted my priorities. I am trying to be more present with family and friends, to speak up about what matters even when it is uncomfortable, and to use whatever platform I have in service of my community. However we understand the sacred—through traditional faith, the rhythms of nature, or service to others—having something larger than ourselves to orient us seems essential for a fulfilling life.

Travel still calls to me, not only to well-known destinations but to places that challenge my perspective and expand my empathy.

The "clear things up" part resonates most. Life feels too short to let misunderstandings or hurt feelings harden into distance when an honest conversation might heal them. In my experience, addressing unresolved issues with care and truth usually deepens connection.

What prompted these reflections for you? Are there specific goals or reconciliations you are hoping to make?
— Susan

[Northern Star Girl]

@ChrissyRyan
Dear Chrissy:  Thank you for posting this thought provoking topic. 
                        I fully agree with your ending thoughts.
@Susan
Dear Susan:  Your reply comments echo my beliefs about this subject that Chrissy shared.

In many of my past postings here on the Forum when I have responded to members postings regarding
heartaches, disagreeable moments with friends, and arguments with family members, particularly close
immediate family, I have always stated that you don't want to have any regrets with anyone
especially a close friend, sibling, or a parent that has passed away before any chances for apologies and
making things right.

Keep a clean slate and "short accounts" with unforgiveness and bad words.  We can never pull the words
back into our mouths so we need to be very aware of what and how we say things....  apologies don't
erase bad memories of those that were on the receiving end of our hurtful statements.

Unforgiveness is the refusal to let go of anger, resentment, and the pain of a past hurt or offense.
Holding on to negative thoughts and feelings about the offender is a self-destructive. 
It binds us to the past, leading to emotional bondage, broken relationships, and the inability
for personal peace.
Unforgiveness ultimately harms the person holding onto it, hindering their spiritual, emotional, and
mental well-being.

My own personal experiences with my aging father back where I grew up on the family ranch in Montana,
more than a thousand miles away... he has and continues to reject my transition and since 2015 he has
hardly spoken to me and will not answer my phone calls and letters.  In my trips back to see him and
my mother I have tried to heal any wounds that have unnfortunately transpired between us.  I do not
wish to have any regrets when they are no longer among the living...  that would tear me apart.

HUGS, Danielle [Northern Star Girl]
    The Forum Administrator    Direct Email: alaskandanielle@yahoo.com

[Lori Dee]

I learned long ago that there is a way that I want to live my life. I have found that when I focus on that, I can achieve great things, and my happiness increases.

I have been a member of the Rosicrucians since 1983. One of the many things I learned as part of my membership is from a manuscript in the archives of our Order.

"We know that the aim of all human beings is to perfect ourselves; to become better people. Therefore, constantly endeavor to awaken and express the virtues of the soul that animates you. In doing so, you will contribute to your own evolution while serving the cause of humanity." ~ Rosicrucian Manuscript   

I think this covers many of the aspects of your question. We know deep within ourselves how we should live our lives. We don't need someone else to tell us how to do it. When we live in harmony with ourselves, we cannot help but become happy.

It sounds simple enough, but it is one of the most difficult things we could ever do. When we begin to accept, love, and forgive ourselves, it becomes much easier to accept, love, and forgive others.

What we often forget is that we don't need anyone's permission to do these things. We can accept, love, and forgive anyone for anything, whether they even know it or not.

[Sarah B]

Hi Everyone

Have I given thought to what I want to do with the time I have left?  Yes, but not in deep thought and what I see is not a list of regrets, unfinished dreams, nor a list of things that I will be doing, such as a bucket list written down in black or white.  What I see is a steady path shaped by clarity, purpose and peace.

I'm looking at another 30 years living just as I am.  That alone is a comfort.  To know now that I will be at peace with every choice I have made.  No need for revision.  No need to wish to redo anything.  Every moment I think about what I did in the past, I know without a doubt I will have a smile on my face every time.  Not because everything went right, but because I lived it with intention and I owned it fully.

There's meaning in passing on what I have learned.  I will give others the tools to stand strong, to rise above those who try to belittle or silence them.  No one should be made to feel small.  I will share my knowledge so others can walk with dignity, respect and truth regardless of who they are.

I will not stop learning.  That hunger for knowledge is something I will never outgrow.  It shapes how I see the world.  It's how I keep growing even as the years pass.

And then there's the water.  I will keep swimming.  That black line at the bottom of the pool still calls to me.  I may never reach the end of it, but I will always keep chasing it.  It reminds me who I am and why I move forward with joy.

So what do I want to do? Exactly this.  Live with peace, share with purpose, seek with curiosity, swim with passion and smile every time I look back.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator

[Maid Marion]

I am learning to make connections with the the local community around me.
Folks already know I'm the neighborhood gardening, growing gorgeous roses all season long in my front yard.  Instead of bushy shrubs of a couple years ago I now grow long stemmed beauties as doing this keeps the nasty pests rose midge in check without spraying nasty pesticides.

It has obviously been a tough week for Asians living in the USA.  I special ordered my favorite sushi, raw tuna roll.  The guy who makes it was delighted to do so--I'm one of his favorite customers because of the way we interact with each other. We thrive on good social interaction, which is why we have parties and Fairs in the Fall.  It isn't just being visible in the community.  It is also being part of the community.

Marion
                               

[Athena]

Unfortunately I am kind of stuck in a rut. I hope to be able to move soon and I hope to get most if not all of remaining surgeries done but after that I just don't know. I am not really socially outgoing and with moving away from most of my real life friends it doesn't bode well. Also with depression I have lost interest in almost everything, now it is more lets try to not be bored.

If possible I wouldn't mind traveling to all 7 continents but honestly I don't really think that is feasible. With the U.S. moving WAY to the right so much so that I don't think it will ever move to the left in my lifetime. I don't think I will travel much anymore. I normally cruise and a lot of cruises leave from U.S. ports and honestly with the attitude in the U.S. I have no intention of ever going back.

Unfortunately I am just existing not really living and I don't see that changing.

[Maid Marion]

If possible I wouldn't mind traveling to all 7 continents but honestly I don't really think that is feasible. With the U.S. moving WAY to the right so much so that I don't think it will ever move to the left in my lifetime. I don't think I will travel much anymore. I normally cruise and a lot of cruises leave from U.S. ports

 That is something that is easy to change over time. Cruise ships aren't flying the American Flag.
As tourists withdraw from the USA the cruise companies will change the ports they visit.  They can't do this overnight as an infrastructure and service economy needs to be created at each new port.  But there are plenty of countries that would welcome the tourist business to help their economy.

They also need to advertise and develop a market for cruises that leave from the new ports.  This will take time.

[KathyLauren]

The question sounds like it wants a big answer.  Not big as in a lot of words, but big as in a major project or accomplishment.

That doesn't really interest me.  If someone gave me an all-expenses paid trip to Europe, I'd go, but it's not something I want.  It would be nice to visit Ireland, which I haven't seen in 65 years, but it's not something I want enough to set aside the money for it.

What I want is to live a good life.  Helping to make the world a better place is a good, if vague, project.  It is a big one, given that it seems to be going downhill lately.  I inherited my mother's stubbornness, which will come in handy.

I expect to be a curmudgeonly old lady in a rocking chair, raging against the dying of the light.

[Pema]

Yes, I have. I started when I was 19, and I contrived grandiose plans. I followed those plans - modifying them appropriately along the way - and accomplished things that society deemed "achievements." But none of that really fulfilled me. I longed for simplicity and authenticity. So I chucked almost all of it and shifted to a life fairly removed from that of the average American. Around that time, my closest friend had decided she was going to summit mountains and began training rigorously for it. She said to me, "I'm going to do something big!" I said, "So am I - in a thousand tiny ways every day." This approach was really working for me, and by age 40 I felt like my life just kept getting better and better.

Then I started having weird health issues that had no clear cause. All the standard tests came back normal. A brain MRI showed a tumor, which doctors said needed to come out as soon as possible and also wasn't the cause of my symptoms. So I had brain surgery, which only left me feeling worse than when I started. During all of that, I realized how complacent I had been, how I'd taken for granted that my life even had a future let alone how it might look. None of us knows how long we have, so every day, every moment is a bonus.

In the 20 years since then, I've moved even more out of mainstream American life and lived in a way that much more accords with who I am. Especially this year, after having another level of awakening, I've really come to understand that we are all very deeply conditions to hold patterns and expectations for how life "should be." Life is life, and it very often doesn't match those "supposed tos." That includes relationships and especially familial ones. Everyone has a unique sense for who they are and why they're here. We can't always "fix" severely disconnected relationships. And that's OK. Accepting what is is the only path I see.

So, my "plan" for how to live my life is to come as close as I can to living each day as if it were my last. To embrace the world exactly as it is and let go of expectations, judgment, disappointment, and other distracting concepts. To feel true peace in that acceptance, and with it the joy and wonder that come from realizing that I exist at all and am aware of it. From that place, my actions will reflect the same intentions. In those actions, I would much rather create than consume.