A pure state of mind !

I would never trade my amazing friends, my exciting life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself, not that I was extremely demanding of myself through my youth, but I've become for sure my own friend, I don't come down on myself for eating a second helping , or for not making my bed, or for having that one more drink when I feel like it. I'm entitled to a treat, to be messy, and to all the extravaganza.

I have seen too many friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read, or listen to classical music until 4 am and sleep until noon ?? I will dance with myself to the wonderful tunes of my present life with total abandon if I choose to, despite the resentful glances from the others. They , too, will get old.

I'm so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my grooves on my face and my aching joints become a reminder of my little debauch and my forever youthful laughs. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could even turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive, you care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I've earned the right to be wrong.

So, and in my honest opinion, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I'm still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall have my evening drinks every single day , ( if I feel like it ).

May I always have that same big smile on my face and in my heart for ever and ever !! friends for ever !! salamat.

Authenticity and more.

Few days ago I came back from a trip to NY city that continued to Boston and it's neighbouring towns, as expected part of it was quiet and cultural, I mean by that lots of museums and galleries exhibiting all sorts of contemporary and classic paintings. An interesting observation though, after many days of this, and i should explain here that I'm talking about classical and mostly medieval works. The imagination of painters/artists was startling even when depicting serious and well documented scenes. I will explain myself by giving some examples, two different painters one Italian and the other representing a German school, painted La Piata, a known sculpture and theme, the surrounding Jerusalem, was a European typical paysage in both instances, with houses coming from middle ages Europe, the dresses as well, even the green pasture, another good example was when a Dutch painter decided to transport the french city of Lyon with it's cathedral and streets to the Mediterranean sea and it's waves, a third in Napoli with a Turk merchant in the harbor wearing everything Turkish including his turbans and moustache except his rather short skirt like an old roman war skirts showing his legs and knees, not Turkish or Muslim at all. Many more paintings depicted the Roman soldiers around the body of Jesus at the bottom of the cross in modern medieval armors and dresses, so was Mary and the rest of the group holding the body transported in time. Even ships at different known historic battles were transposed from different epochs. OK you get the picture. What bothers me with the whole affair is not the poor authenticity of the painters or their abundant imagination, we look at art more in terms of colour blending and details of drawing rather than historic facts, but think how many historians and writers of books ,stories, or even sacred books gave us through the times, images, scenes and ideas that were as colourful and imaginative as the painters/artists did in their paintings, themselves impressed by artists sometimes, or even less important sketches by less important painters some other times. It makes me wonder how accurate even some of the best historic books or some of the sacred texts are when written tens or even hundreds of years after the events took place. We do live, and in some instances greatly under the influences of many of these historical or theological ideas that were written and reedited many years after the events took place. Are we somehow diminishing our faculties and our cognitive minds accepting one aspect and ignoring the other, or looking at the same material with different eyes ??

Assessing oneself !!!!

Again, it's in my honest opinion. Every one of us should assess Himself/herself, in an honest way, and that shouldn't be too difficult nor impossible to reach within our actual intellect in our existence in today's world. Our knowledge ,social behaviour, or any form of interaction with others of our entourage, should give us enough thoughts and material to just stop for a moment and reconsider, we might often surprise ourselves with how mediocre and uneducated we could be about any subject, especially when interacting with others, anyone actually. This fact should with no hesitation drive us to some humility, or at least less pompous attitudes, less assertiveness, less stupid argumentation, and for sure less arrogance, the idea that one is not the most intelligent and learned ,should, and must give most of us a certain degree of humble behavior and acceptance that is necessary to make us better individuals. Somehow listening occasionally to others, whoever might they be, could be very enlightening, I believe we all think we do interact and listen fairly, but somehow we hardly do, and it's never enough. Salamat.