IF I WERE A RICH MAN

Eric's Blog

If I Were A Rich Man

I'd biddy, biddy 

Bum

All day long

I'd biddy biddy 

Bum

If I were

A wealthy man

I AM

Wealth is a personal feeling. For some it means having so much money they can do and buy anything they want. For others, they feel wealthy if they have a roof over their heads, no matter how basic, simple food on the table and enough paying work to keep it there. 

I am fortunate enough to not only have the roof and the food but can pay all the bills, have money for projects and play and even afford heat and air conditioning and a used car that is relatively young. I feel a very wealthy man.

(loving and beloved in an amazing country)

I also know that richness is a lot more than money and things, even more than the basic necessities. For a life to be truly wealthy, loving, kind relationships with others are of paramount importance. I would probably also add a dose of creativity, joy and nature. 

So, I biddy, biddy bum along, feeling that I am a rich man. My basic needs and wants are met and I love and am beloved. I can happily biddy, biddy bum.    

The wonderful wonders of the W.C. (Water closet)

Lesley's Blog

In the last few months two of our three W.C's (aka toilets or loos) have been "on the blink". At first it was marginally irritating when one of them would not quite turn off completely once the flush cycle was over. Then I would have to get up from the couch, reflush, and wait to make sure it didn't drip. But somehow we simply got used to it. It just seemed part of our life and lethargy had become well entrenched.



We had actually tried everything to fix that downstairs loo, including a complete replacement of the innards of the tank, but it was all to no avail. Finally we tacked on replacing that loo to the completion of painting the kitchen cabinets (a job that I had done partly an embarrassingly long time ago). We loved having both projects done and had for a while a new appreciation for the wonders of a working toilet. 

Like many times when we have such renewed appreciation for something, including being alive, it did not seem to last very long before we began to take it for granted once again. 

However, almost as soon as the downstairs loo was fixed, the upstairs, master bathroom W.C. decided to up the ante on us. Until then we had made it manageable by simply making sure that when we flushed we turned the handle back to the horizontal position (which it had stopped doing automatically). We are of the age when visits to the bathroom in the night are much more frequent than they used to be and much more frequent than we would like. Now with this new problem it became quite an ordeal to make sure the loo both flushed and turned off and we had to keep the top off the tank. The middle of the night bathroom visits took on a whole different meaning. 

So, it wasn't long until we had had enough. It was different level of seriousness than the downstairs toilet. Middle of the night loo activity is serious stuff. The loo replacers came last week again and it truly is wonderful to have two fully working W.C.'s. Every time I visit them I am grateful.

I would like this gratitude to last longer and to expand to a renewed appreciation of all the wonderful things that we hardly notice in our everyday life, like clean running water that can also be hot and electricity that among other things keeps us warm and cool. We live in an amazing world and maybe this time I can be thankful for everything every day that I live and also be thankful for my life.            

RITUALS FOR LIVING

Eric's blog

Rituals for Living

 

Every morning

It is time

To walk the dogs

 

Every Thursday morning

It is time

To do yard work

 

Every evening after supper

It is time

To put the dishwasher on

 

 

Ritual times for doing certain chores and activities make life simpler. They include plans for activities that need to be taken care of in order for us to remain well balanced and in control. When we ritualize things that need to be done, we do them without thinking about them. In the "big picture" we already made that choice that they are important to include in our lives.

 





 (It will be full by the time we have cleaned up after dinner!)

 

Too much choice may actually be a problem. It can lead to "I don't feel like doing it" or "I can put it off until later". Later often magnifies the problem and choice and projects can become overwhelming.

 

Establishing rituals and sticking to those routines can help us balance work and play as well as exercise and rest in our lives.