A fellow blogger, Worrywarts guide… led me to the YouTube clip below (thank you). It catapulted me into a ‘reconsider my various mantras’ mode, such as ‘you live until you die’ and ‘live every day as if it’s your last, just in case it is’. And then it made me wonder how many days until next Christmas… and it is only 298 days away! What if I died before then? Or tomorrow? What things would I feel cheated for not having achieved? Would I have any ‘unfinished business’, you know, the things with family or friends whom you might have fallen out with and wished you hadn’t, or the people who you really love, but haven’t told them for a while?

Time really does fly. Every second, every minute, every day really counts. What I am doing right now, like blogging, had better really mean something to me, have a purpose. Of course, there are things we need to do for fun and relaxation, but if we do too much of that, then when we get to our final moments, we just might be wistful we’d achieved some of the more meaningful things in our life. Luckily for me, the serious things I do, like writing about dementia, and volunteering, are not just meaningful, but I find them relaxing and energising, even when I have to work hard.

I love my life, there are even some days when I can  say I love having been diagnosed with dementia, as it has made me sit up and take more notice of my own mantras, and, I’m a lot less of a ‘gunna’ than I used to be! This does not mean I love living with the symptoms of dementia, nor any of the other health issues I am facing, but they are really just a small part of who I am, and in no way stop me from doing what I really want to do. Lately I’ve been more focused on what others think about my blog, and this video clip has reminded me I am blogging for me, rather than about what others think of it.

Naturally it is lovely if you like it, or find it useful and meaningful, and I love the fact that you read it and respond to me on it. I don’t even mind the negative comments, or the ones that make me sit up really straight and get a little cranky, as they help me review and reconsider my own thinking and behaviour; it is really helpful. Our conversations make it so much more meaningful, and give me a wonderfully strong sense of community, something missing a little in my real life.

Thank you. I love you all.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cutpSwtwozQ