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Debra Smith
Niagara Falls / Toronto, On
Canada

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What are the elements of the ABUNDANT life in your estimation? What are the most important elements of a good life?

How do you define the good life?

Does it have to do with accomplishment, with people, with experiences?

Please tell us- from the bottom of your heart- what makes your life interesting, exciting and worthwhile or what it would take to make it so.

We all value different things and this question is designed to explore what we hold dear, what we value and how different paths lead to satisfaction, joy and fulfilment.

So - please share your thoughts.

Related Talks:

Topics: Values investments perspectives

Closing Statement from Debra Smith

Thank you for sharing your vision of the adundant life! Every entry below made a valued contribution toward the whole. The following is not my own wisdom - for I am indeed a learner here but the gathered wisdom of kind and helpful TED people:

From this discussion we learned that a real and authentically abundant life may have nothing to do with wealth or stuff but rather the ability to appreciate moments and gifts from any life - the feel of warm dryness when it has been raining or a comfortable place to sleep when you are really tired or the knowledge that someone has your back when you really need it. It can also be about really little things in life- a lovely stone in the palm or your hand or the really big like the vibrant taste of good food prepared by a Ferrari in the kitchen!

Life is more abundant with love and with friends but even when you are alone abundance can be a state of mind.
It may augmented by the accumulation of common sense things like good health and exercise. It can be found in the state of flow and in the arts like poetry.

We also explorred to my great advantage- the loss of a sense of abundance which can come from a lack of hope. This may feel like a broken bridge. That bridge might be rebuilt by singing into the future and by looking to new places of inspiration, hope and abundance rather than persisting in looking to where it once was.

Little did I know how much the framing and sharing of a naive question would help me back onto my own path towards abundance and I thank everyone for being a sign post in my personal journey.

Thanks to each contributor for your abundant good will!

Debra

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Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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May 21 2011: Hey everyone..great news!!! Anil has just started a conversation about alinement of heart, mind and will which is pretty much a short cut definition of abundance http://www.ted.com/conversations/3017/there_are_three_minds_in_a_bod.html?c=249603 I am not sure what he has in mind there but I do know that there are non faith based practices where this alinement can be achieved and explored so it might be fun for all of us who have participated here to follow up on thsi wonderful discussion over there with Anil. See you there I hope.
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 21 2011: Thomas the key can be: Balance...equilibrium....stability....eternity....flexibility....being awake....without memories....joy...generosity....getting out from illusion....and overall is to stop thinking that abundance means treasuring....when you give
is when you more receives,....( but expecting nothing.) (I took this from The Godspell, and also from the Bhagavad Gita)
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 21 2011: Just one nahuatl word to the celestial navigator...........TLAYOLTEHUANITLACUILOTZIN. ( The one who divinize the things with the hearth)
- Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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  May 21 2011: :)) yes celestial navigation unites the universe, the oceans of the earth and the spirits of humankind in one magical process..whales often follow.
Ed Schulte 50+
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May 20 2011: Hi Debra

I know this isn't what your asking but I am going to answer your .....What are the elements of the ABUNDANT life " question this way

Etheric Vitality is the ONE element, without it "life" would not . But TED isn't the form to id Etherics so I will suggest Laugher ABUNDANCE of Laughter...and have a good Long weekend.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 20 2011: Hey there Ed! Welcome!
  
  Yes, I think you add an important element of the abundant life- laughter!
  
  Nice addition, thank you!
- Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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  May 20 2011: Yes etheric vitality..love that ..need several of these litle blocks to explain that here at Ted though.
  What I expresed above ( somewher) is what my father taught me..which is "harvesting joy" in all things.
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 20 2011: I like the width and depth of the word JOY. It is a real advantage to have such a good example and leader early in life.
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: did you see my little piece above on my definitin of abudance..I had been thinking baout this conversation since I first saw its title..intentionally didn't engage or peek..woke up this morning and what I write just poured out of in a whole. I have never used that pharse before"harvesting joy" but that it is really it in two words ( and my father was a master at harvesting joy)
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 20 2011: Yes, I did. I was responding to that comment and the one just above here where you referenced it again when I referred to a good example and leader- your father. It sets one up for an abundant life when you have it modelled so well.
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: @ Sets one up for an abundant life when you have it modelled so well"..So true and i knaow I am blessed. The universe has taken very good care of me giving me one amazing mentor after another all also modeling brilliance and the art of harvesting joy.I believe we can call it in..just by yearning for it..what we seek seeks us..and always we meet.Also by deeply exploring the bio and personal writings of people behind the art, music and poetry that inspires you can give us some insight into where our abundance lies..our own abundance waiting inside us to speak and lead. I was very very sick this winter..more of my problems from chemo/radiation damage and the only engagement I could manage from my bed was through the computer so I spent a good part of the winter exploring the peronal views and speaking of John Cage who early works for modified piano had captured my fancy..also his aleatory art which I had been exploring ,myself. Lead me to yet another powerful model of personal abundance. It;s everywhere waiting for us to listen, waiting for us to welcome it....
  - Comment deleted
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: :))) a ball of light to you dear wongmo
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 21 2011: I sincerely hope that you are not only on the mend but heading toward ABUNDANT health. Blessings to you and your body! Big hug!
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 21 2011: :)))
- Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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  May 20 2011: Ed..thought I would share this excerpt from a source I am sure you are familiar with on "etheric vitality" whichhappens to explain quite well and also fits in this little box..
  
  "What we call Etheric Vitality is also known by many, many other names. In India, it is called “Prana”. Their Pranayama practices teach the students how to collect and use it. To the Chinese Etheric Vitality is “Chi” and Chi Kung (Qi Gong) is their practice for working with it. The Japanese call Etheric Vitality, “Ki”. Their practice of directing this energy for healing is called Reiki (Reiki in Japanese means spirit life force). William Reich coined the name Orgone Energy to describe certain frequencies of this Etheric Vitality. Rudolf Steiner referred to the Etheric Double as the Etheric Organization and spoke of how to draw on it with conscious breathing. In the ancient Aramaic language, which was in use about 1000 years before and after Christ, the Etheric Double was called the Tzool-mah. Therapeutic Touch and all the other so-called “Energy Work” techniques of the day draw on Etheric Vitality in varying degrees. In the Lords Prayer Christ referred to as Our Daily Bread. It does not make any difference what you call it, Etheric Vitality exists and we can access it consciously and use it for our own well-being and to help others."
  - Ed Schulte 50+
    
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    May 20 2011: Well well there you go Dear Lindsay ..
    
    .testing the flexibility of the steel bands around the TED box..are you
    
    ..well I, thanks to you did gain a Laugh and smile here....
    
    because
    
    I did start to put down "words" re Chi and Te and the mis-use / mis-understanding of "Kundalini" Energy in the west and the value of Gopi Krishna's works .... AND ...as well...the early Christians of toning Etheric Vitality down to the simple line "give us this day our daily bread" ...........AND then I caught myself and said ..".this is TED what are You doing saying this at TED!!!!!!" ...and hit the "D" key.
    
    So Ty, Ty, Ty, for delivering this one an ABUNDANT Laugh and a Smile :-) ...and demonstrating one of the not so talked about aspects of "Etheric" ....the seemingly synchronistic aspect of our BEing-ness....and YES!!!...the "Harvesting of JOY"
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: thank you for that joyful etherically bountiful ball of light, Dear Ed....r u my daddy?
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 20 2011: Pretty sure that is Tolle.
    
    ****I appreciate the correction. I obviously spoke without knowledge.
    - Ed Schulte 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: Debra
      
      no actually Tolle , like HHtDL, doesn't approach EV as a direct subject other then to say it is "the light of (Pure) Consciousness" he uses the less direct approach of suggesting the clearing away of the blockages and strengthening the channels /// wise IMO because inducing greater flow of EV by breathing exercises etc has caused serious damage to nervous systems
      
      Lindsey re: " ..r u my daddy? ".....no BUT I will say your dad has one heck of a BIG """""Field of Presence" """" around his ( in his current non-moral state of Being) and that will cause this seeing/hearing/feeling him in many levels of BEing.
Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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May 20 2011: I was very blessed to have a father of great brilliance who lived life with great joy. He harvested joy in learning, he harvested joy in history, he harvested joy in meeting people of different cutures, he harvested joy in games and play, he harvested joy in the wonder and mystery of nature and the universe, he harvested joy in the small things that are about cherishing one another, he harvested joy in celebrating and supportimg the self discovery and self actualization of those he loved.

.He taught me these things

That is my abundance.

Harvesting joy.
Adriana Camarena
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May 20 2011: I propose another question: why is that we feel the lost of abundance?
Expectation, perhaps?
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 20 2011: Oh My Goodness! Welcome Adriana! I can tell that you and Jaime are from the same profound way of thinking. Good question.
  
  If I examine my soul, my loss of a sense of 'something' - abundance might be the right word- arose out of the empty nest and an unexpected divorce. Most of my life is good but I once felt a vibrant abundance and a deep sense of purpose that I do not now feel that came from a home filled with five children and the man I thought I would die next to. My kids are doing exactly what they should be doing and embracing full lives. I just miss them because they live at substantial distance.
  
  The changes happened more rapidly than I expected and in some parts with devastating finality. You are right- I had an expectation of a future path. I am remaking my path- and I have confidence that life will be abundant again but -
- Jaime Lubin 10+
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  May 20 2011: Adriana that happens (maybe) when we change our focus from inside to outside......when we deform our hope in illusion....and when we put the clock to tic-tactic-tac as a substitute of our heart...when we begin to mesure things and not recognize the real quality of the inmessurable joy of being.
- Thomas Pisarchick 10+
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  May 20 2011: I would say that it's when a change in the current happens, the abundance coming from another direction and we continue to look at from whence it came instead of where now it does flow.
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 21 2011: Yes Thomas, but you have to recognize it first....if not maybe goes away.........
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 21 2011: Wow Thomas and Jaime, that's scary!. How does one get more in tuned to the possibilies rather than the past?
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 21 2011: I think it fades in mind rather than goes away. When occasion comes for memory then forgetting is more depressive then moving on.
      
      Debra, that is the question. I think it's one of those self journeys, the individual's way and definition is likely very different from others.
      
      Any ideas on that Jaime?
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 19 2011: Debra how we can deal with the sense (very old virtue) of resignation when we lose abundance?
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 20 2011: Jaime this is a very important question. I am not sure I am the best one to answer it. Can you help us along with some thoughts, please?
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 20 2011: Debra....equilibrium....is the key word.......just think and feel about.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 20 2011: I do think about every word you share with me and they guide me forward.
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 20 2011: I learn from Lindsay....harvesting joy.....a very beautyfull harvest of joy, in a enormous fiedl in heart....joy is the seed and joy is the flower, and joy becomes the fruit...to enjoy. Thanks a lot Lindsay
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: jaime..I love that
      
      "joy is the seed, joy is the flower and joy becomes the fruit to enjoy"
      
      harvesting joy
      
      an abudance of light and blessings.. to you, Jaime
      
      Lindsay
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 20 2011: I agree Jaime, our Lindsay has a lot of light in her!
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 18 2011: Debra right now in Guadalajara we are in a sunny day...bright and very warm (37°) no clouds, fiercy blue sky and the flowers are exploding with thousands colors and fragances. This is a mistery...the mistery of the thousand colors flower...and its a path also to walk and see my shadow over the gardens, in the sidewalk, in the wind....these images has a meaningfull insigth to see face to face the real abundance. In the morning i can see how the sun rises up...now im in the office but i go downstairs to walk an feel. I'm with one orange in my hand and its perfume invades me. The first bite is really delghtfull, like music....this is a Magritte afternoon.....
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 20 2011: I am totally envious because I have much to learn about embracing the fullness of life.
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 20 2011: Alo Debra....maybe you have to let the life embrace you....then the fullness came from the very inside of your soul, sprit, senses, mind, intuition, organs, ....everyyou. The life is not outside....is inside you. So the abundance cant appear from any outsource.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 20 2011: Yeah Jaime but it would be more fun in a tropical environment!
      
      My arms are spread wide- will I feel the embrace?
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  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 20 2011: Hey Wongmo! Feeling better?
    
    You are right. Jaime is a real gift to me and he leads me sometimes like a blind person. I have lived a life of pouring out myself and nurturing me is not a natural habit. I need more tutoring on the subject- so do not hesitate to help with the make over of Debra! I need all the help I can get!
Tim blackburn 30+
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May 18 2011: all i need is the love of my life and good company and a bite to eat.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 20 2011: Tim! Hello! I didn't notice your entry here but I love the simplicity and rightness of your post. Thanks!
  - Tim blackburn 30+
    
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    May 20 2011: thanks! i forgot to mention liquids, beer is a must but water works too
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 21 2011: Now that's funny- but vital. The love part- a beloved- more vital- but sometimes hard to find.
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 17 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dXXPvmUNaI

More hope and joyfull music napolitan-mexican........if we go to our deeper soul to see what is this abundance sentiment, of course we need some abundant music.

We mexicans have a lot from napolitan sense of life and napolitans has a lot of mexican "ethos".....hope, plentifull and joyfull abundance.
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 17 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dXXPvmUNaI

We all need some hopefull music.....enjoy.¡¡¡¡
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 16 2011: If we don't define (for ourselves) or at least, intent to know why or what is that thing called "abundance" ,maybe we all fall in a bizantynian discussion. Please keep TED flowing, not TEDious.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 17 2011: abundance (əˈbʌndəns)
  
  — n
  1. a copious supply; great amount
  2. fullness or benevolence: from the abundance of my heart
  3. degree of plentifulness
  4. chem the extent to which an element or ion occurs in the earth's crust or some other specified environment: often expressed in parts per million or as a percentage
  5. physics the ratio of the number of atoms of a specific isotope in a mixture of isotopes of an element to the total number of atoms present: often expressed as a percentage: the abundance of neon-22 in natural neon is 8.82 per cent
  6. Also called: abondance a call in solo whist undertaking to make nine tricks
  7. affluence
  
  Too Literal?
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 17 2011: Alo Debra the literal definitions are usefull when you can choice if you are in a metaphorical way , or in a scientific context, or maybe in the material references to "so many".....being precise helps when you can be sharped in the sense of your real question .
    Sometimes a word can have a lot of referents and the sense could be blury. .Thanks.
    
    For me is clear. And most if I can hear in this very warm afternoon the sound of bells from the distant churches. That sound gives me a very delightfull and strange sentiment of being plenty and joyfull. Really I don't know if is because my memory start to remind me some from my childhood, or is just a pleasure sound that evoques me a sentiment of abundance. Anyway I enjoy the experience.
    Salve Debra¡
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 18 2011: The sound of church bells reminds me of my childhood. There was a cathedral at the end of my street and a convent was next to it. The sound of the bells playing hymns! You just evoked a happy memory!
      Gracias!
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 18 2011: Debra.....have you had a Magritte afternoon?............if not......Have it¡¡¡¡¡
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 20 2011: Well tell Adrianna and your wife that a Canadian is coming at some point in the future to your beautiful city to have the experience of a Magritte afternoon. Just let me know what to bring!
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 21 2011: Almost at the very end of this discussion - 6 minutes to go!
Comment deleted
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 16 2011: Hey Wongmo r!
  
  Thanks for engaging me with a good challenge!Your original answer was what I intended. My purpose is to make it a question where people ask themselves what is important- not sifted through other people's ideas or 'shoulds' or competitivenss.
  
  I am asking what makes YOUR life worthwhile. For me what really distills down to ABUNDANCE is not stuff but rather people, experiences and good work. I earnestly ask you- what is precious, what is needful, what makes a good life for Wongmo r?
  
  I have read every word you have written on this site and I know your compassion and love for the homeless. I also know, having worked with some indigent people that they can be the happiest and most joyful in the moment. We could learn from some of them about what true abundance of heart and spirit are. They know how to share.
  
  By the way- when I challenged Helen's response she shared that she was saying the culturally expected view so that people would not jump all over her. I have invited her to tell her real view too.
  - Comment deleted
- Jaime Lubin 10+
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  May 17 2011: wongmo r.......Most people?.... how many?.....how do you know that?....its just your opinion ?......
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 17 2011: Hi Jaime Lubin!
    The site is not as much fun without your presence!
  - Comment deleted
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 17 2011: HI Wongmo! I do and you said it very well.
      
      I think that many homeless people know exactly what makes their life abundant because they take less for granted. They know how important someone who really has your back is. They really appreciate a full belly. They realize how great it is to be out of the rain or snow and be dry and warm.
    - Jaime Lubin 10+
      
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      May 18 2011: You are clear as crystal....and I undestand your point of view.....I agree with you, mostly because I see daily the problem with the poorest people in my country. But the concept of poverty is a relative idea, and we have to discuss deeper the meaning of the two poles ....abundance--------------scarcity.
      
      If the abundance is recognizable, is because we know the scarcity, and it's not just a lack of things.....both could be phisycal or metaphisycal.
Amily shaw 10+
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TED Translator

May 16 2011: Hi Debra, from where i am in my life right now , a good life means

1)meaningful relationships
2)a work that allows me to do what i think is important
3)a place where i can read ,relax and make some noises with my guitar or do nothing at all
4)opportunities to learn and share ideas(i am interested in understanding people and the world )
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 16 2011: I sounds to me Amily that you are in a very good place right now!
  - Amily shaw 10+
    
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    May 17 2011: these things are my defination of a good life , so i am kind of starting to building up in that direction and not quite there yet...but i am hopeful;)
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 17 2011: Amily- you just helped me to realize that I think HOPE is one of the elements of a good life!
      Thanks!
      
      Whenever my level of hope has dipped my life is not as abundant.
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 17 2011: I can also attest for that hope relation.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 18 2011: Thomas, when do you feel the most hopeful?
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 19 2011: When I think of the possibility the future holds.
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 17 2011: Debra you said the magic word....HOPE. Thanks a lot. The real HOPE is divine and we have to be aware to dont confuse with the sensation of waiting something.....there are very different things...HOPE are alwys in a real present and belongs to the eternity....waiting is just a simulation from the present to the future...its like a broken bridge.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 18 2011: ..........a broken bridge...........that' s exactly what it can feel like Jaime Lubin.
  - Amily shaw 10+
    
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    May 18 2011: My Pleasure Debra;) and i believe “Hope never abandons you; you abandon it”.
    
    have a good life!
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 18 2011: Thanks, sweet spirit!
Helen Hupe 30+
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May 16 2011: Heck no.........but I get put down if I tellthe truth so I figured I would give it a chance. Not by you!!
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 16 2011: Hey there Helen, I will protect you from the bears so come to the picnic! I earnestly want to hear what you believe is the good and abundant life.
Helen Hupe 30+
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May 15 2011: Money, power, control and many luxuries.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 16 2011: Somehow, I don't feel that this is the real you, Helen. No judgement but you are making me doubt my astuteness with people- is this really what makes your life abundant?
Tim Colgan 50+
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May 15 2011: Debra: You ask a tough question. One really has to think just to begin to answer.

I think that one thing which makes this question so difficult is that we are taught that altruism is the highest value. Everything from religion to Maslow's hierarchy to TED's promotion of philanthropy tells us so.

Yet, who in reality wakes up in the morning saying "how can I help people today"?

To me a good life is made up of good days. So what makes a good day? There do seem to be some important ingredients:
. good sleep
. exercise
. social interaction
. getting outdoors
. learning new things, meeting interesting people
. being productive in some way
. getting in a flow

Perhaps I'm missing some elements, but you get the idea. And in the end it really comes down to achieving the right balance between our purely individual needs and our need to interact with others.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 15 2011: Hey Tim,
  You gave me exactly what I was hoping to find- an honest answer not filtered through anyone's expectations or 'shoulds' but from a simple human stand point - what makes a good day and an abundant life?
  I wish you a lifetime of good days.
  (PS you might notice that mine is pretty simple too.)
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  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 15 2011: My kids swear by Pho for jet lag and hang overs.
  - Tim Colgan 50+
    
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    May 16 2011: I've got a solution that works for me. But it starts before you get on the plane. Sorry.
    
    btw - How was Vienna? My favorite thing about Vienna is the graffiti. They're very creative.
  - Tim Colgan 50+
    
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    May 17 2011: What works for me is to get very little sleep before the trip and wait till normal sleep time to go asleep where you arrive.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 19 2011: Dear Birdia- few people have more insight into an abundant and vibrant life than you do. How about sharing?
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 19 2011: Ahhhhhh! Your contibutions are always worth the wait!
Comment deleted
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 15 2011: Thank you Wongmo for taking the time to think and respond to my question. I am fascinated by and in love with the uniqueness of people. Similarities may make life easy but it is the differences that make life fascinating! As I read your list, I see a person who lives deliberately and yet with great passion!
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 15 2011: ...imagine the smell in the kitchen, the fire is doing the magic transformation, all the vegetables are turning into a great and nutritious soup, in the dining room, the voices are with the tone of happines and me and my assitants we are working hard and joyfull to serve a lot of meals to a crowd......here in Mexico we have a lot of hungry people and the assistance to them is the place where the ferrari comes for an deeply encounter with the abundance ...the real one when share is a delightfull experience.....this is abundant abundance for me.
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 14 2011: Debra the experience of an ultimate reality that goes beyond the means to achieve it, is what I can call "abundant". If we trascend ourselves with the real sense of the "journey" instead a destiny, maybe we'll be there surrounded by abundance.

MAXIMA VOLUPTATIS PLURIMA ET VERITAS ----------------------- MULTUM IN PARVO
The way of excess goes to the realm of wisdom. ---------------------- Abundance in scarcity.

Those two quotes apparently are opposites, but both gravitates in the same center...ABUNDANCE

Abundance is not an aim is a mean.
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 14 2011: When I'm design-cooking, the happines and abundant life reveal me the most sacred secret....in the form of flavors, colors, perfumes, and let me stay in Paradise for a few moments. But the real glory cames when I observe the expression of the people who taste my food creations, specially the desserts. For me cooking is one of the magnificent and joyfull abundance in life. It's like go really fast in A red Ferrari.
Thomas Pisarchick 10+
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May 14 2011: What about you Debra?
Debra Smith 200+
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May 14 2011: The abundant life for me personally is loving my friends, my kids and the people I meet.

Great conversations
a comfortable bed
beautiful flowers
a glorious deep bath tub or natural place to swim
and nature which fills me with peace
good health
good food
including food for my brain- conversations, books, videos, research
Freedom to explore and to learn and to love to change and to grow
Finding meaning in work that I choose to do
- Thomas Pisarchick 10+
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  May 20 2011: Maybe some rabbits in the yard, sounds nice.
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 20 2011: Thomas! You always pop up and bring me a smile. Where does one get a salt lick for wild rabbits? I do know where to get carrots!
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 20 2011: I would think an agricultural store, I'm not sure if there is an Agway around you. Or pet stores have little ones that would do if they knew where it was.
    - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
      
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      May 20 2011: @Thomas watch an eagle eat lunch? yes very day at half tide in fact that's how I figured out where the tsriped bass were in my cove and what there daily habits are. Fascinating how they can somehow single out a particular fish hover and then just grab it . I have as many as four or five at a time here when the herring are runnin and when the stripers are in....( don't feed bunnies salt licks....even domestic bunnies prefer to forage for themselves)
  - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
    
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    May 20 2011: I have rabbits in my yard..cotton tails and snow shoe hairs,,and eagles, and seals,great blue heron a flock of silly geese a crow named kitty a few ferral cats..all abundance..all opportunites to harvest joy every day.
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 20 2011: Your yard sounds pretty awesome, ever watch an eagle get lunch?
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 20 2011: Thomas, my experience with eagles is in British Columbia. I have an aunt there with a home that hangs over the side of a mountain at the level of the tree tops. The eagles soar by the windows and nest near by. Heaven on earth.
- Jaime Lubin 10+
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  May 20 2011: Debra I discover something that I want to share.....About harvest....its a labour, not a job, not a work...with the soil, the rain, the seed in your hands and heart....but also with the real sense of hope...if we want to learn about hope, we have to plant something, and see how it grows...but you can't urge that little seed to grow fast....the nature has a cosmic rithm...And when we can take the fruit to enjoy....first we have to reach in the tree, and in ancient greek that calls "karpos"...rise up your arm and with the hand take the fruit....but if is higher, then you have to put in your toes an get a higher statue to reach the fruit; that call "tarsos" (as you can see karpos means hand, and tarsos means foot.) These two acts togheter are named "ergos" and means labour..... With the earth or the hearth is the same........I've found thes rigth now while I'm listening Mozart.
- Thomas Pisarchick 10+
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  May 20 2011: Lindsay,
  
  Sounds like you live in Alaska or Montana, somewhere that hasn't seen the harsh effects of our habits as other more populace areas.
  
  Are you telling me that a bunny would rather hop around for an hour or so looking to get his salt fix than going up to a abundant source?
  
  Debra,
  
  Sounds like an abundance of tranquility!
  
  You up for an experiment in rabbit psychology? I have a question relating to their salt foraging habits.
  - Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
    
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    May 21 2011: hi thomas..I live on an island off the coast of maine
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 21 2011: Ah, Alaska of the East
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 21 2011: Thomas! Sure I am!
    - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
      
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      May 21 2011: Okay so we see if the wild rabbits will go to a particular spot to get their salt from a lick instead of foraging for their natural salts. If so then we can see how often they will frequent the spot or if they will return even after the block is gone. Or how long of a time in one location does it take to get the rabbits used to going to that location. Can you teach them multiple locations to check, then with those locations add different circumstances or occurrences to see if the rabbits will react differently pending situation. If I only had land and time!
      
      I know if you throw a 50lb block of salt in the woods the deer will come to it. I would think rabbits to be the same.
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
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    May 21 2011: This might be a dumb question but how do you know that rabbits like salt (I know bovine like creatures do) but where have wild rabbits been getting their salt for that last million years?
    
    I am looking forward to this experiment and I know just where to put the salt. I have tall hedges on either side of my yard and they love the shelter of the hedges to travel under so it is their route.
Thomas Pisarchick 10+
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May 14 2011: I really enjoy when things click, when life provides a way to live. I live a very minimalist existence, all of my belongings can fit into one car, with this I encounter many situation that just seem to work out. For a few instances, a couple years ago I needed transportation and a car was offered to me for one dollar. Last December my lease ran up, my neighbor's lease was until this coming June. She had to move for work just a few weeks after my lease ran up so I moved my things into the spare room at her place. I had been thinking of starting my own company but was working 70-80 per week. With in days of moving in with Emily I had the fortune to get fired, having bought a conversion van as a back up plan I was not worried about what was going to happen. Then Emily, knowing I was looking to start a HHO generator business, insists that I stay at the apartment and focus on getting the business going. A couple of months ago I was really strapped, pretty much out of food and no cash to get more. I was out and about running errands and someone put a twenty dollar bill in my van while I was inside speaking with someone. There are truly amazing people in this world, and for this I am grateful. Things like this on a smaller scale happen all the time, almost everyday. I'll admit sometimes I think it would be nice to lead a more normal life, get a good career, buy a house, that type of stuff, but a lot of the people that have this don't seem all to happy about it so I don't commit to that course.
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 14 2011: So Thomas, am I interpreting your entry correctly that you find life to be very abundant and that is most obvious when you are at the brink and the universe opens up an opportunity for you to progress? The immediate provision of what is necessary keeps you grounded and optimistic, is that right?
  - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
    
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    May 17 2011: Spot on. I have trouble seeing why people stress over things.
- Lindsay Newland Bowker 50+
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  May 20 2011: Thomas, the universe needs you and will always care for you and look out for you.
  - Thomas Pisarchick 10+
    
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    May 20 2011: Thanks
Jaime Lubin 10+
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May 14 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8sNwMdRVVM&feature=fl_lolz&playnext=1&list=FLKTwkRbXQlRQ

Debra in my estimation this is a perfect example of living mexican philosophy about the abundant life. I dare you to translate it.....
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 14 2011: Well that is going to be a tough one..........because it doesn't fit in the tranlation software but.............I will work on it with my puny Spanish skills- 5 years of French/ one year of Spanish-- a few decades ago.....but for the love our our dialogue---I will tryl.
  
  Now I challenge you to delight us with your words and share the essence of the abundant life for Jaime Lubin
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 14 2011: El Rey
  
  I know well that I am out,
  but the day that I die,
  I know that you will have to mourn,
  mourn and mourn, mourn and mourn.
  
  You'll say that you didn't want me,
  but you'll going to be very sad,
  and so you will be.
  
  Chorus:
  With money and without money,
  I always what I want,
  and my word is the law,
  I have no throne or queen,
  neither anyone who understands me,
  but I am still the king.
  
  A stone on the road,
  teach my destiny,
  it was rolling and rolling,
  rolling and rolling, rolling and rolling.
  
  After I said an arriero,
  that should not be the first to arrive,
  but we should know how to arrived.
  
  Chorus:
  With money and without money,
  I always what I want,
  and my word is the law,
  I have no throne or queen,
  neither anyone who understands me,
  but I am still the king.
  
  Okay, darling Jaime Lubin- I got the jist of the song (but I thought it was saying that chasing money impoverishes us) but then discovered that the Interest is a benificent godess who bestows bounties of understanding and even Mexican song translations!
  
  So - is this the heart of the Mexican ethos? Each person feels like a king in creation?
  - Jaime Lubin 10+
    
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    May 14 2011: Debra..........We can't define our very complicated "ethos"....we are an exhuberant and tragic culture. Really as a mexicans we don't know clearly who we are (and maybe it doesn? matter). This is an archetypical song, but its better if you read Octavio Paz "The Labyrinth of Solitudes". We are a civilization and culture in the other side of a very ancient mediterranean-indigenous mirror. Read also "The Buried Mirror" from Carlos Fuentes.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 14 2011: Hi Jaime, I do not wish for you to define it. I just want you to share it with me. I love what you have shared already. The sense of being a Ferari is just magical and tells me more than I could have known just with my mind. The image is rich and wide! Thanks so much for always urging us to enjoy the journey. It is what I am trying hard to do- to get out of my head and back into my heart as you urged us to do in another wonderful post.
    - Michael M 30+
      
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      May 16 2011: Excellent choices for books Jaime.
Salim Solaiman 50+
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May 14 2011: I want to define in terms of the great Omar Khayaam .... (read in my own language now trying to translate with my poor english and zero poetic talent though, forgive me for any mistake in doing so)

Need a piece of bread and glass of wine
A book of poetry & smiling darling mine
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 14 2011: I can only respond...........more please Salim!
  - Salim Solaiman 50+
    
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    May 14 2011: Hi Debra
    I know It's my poor translation that's limiting, otherwise it says everything..........
    
    A poet like Khayaam can never be happy with his piece of bread, wine , poetry and fiance (these are just poetic symbol) if basic needs of overall society not fulfilled and overall peace & harmony is absent.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 14 2011: Oh No, Salim- i miscommunicated what I wanted.
      I did understand the distilled genius of the poem.
      I just wanted you to share more of your perspective!
  - Salim Solaiman 50+
    
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    May 14 2011: No worry Debra , you really havn't miscommunicted it's my lack of understanding (definitely you know what poet wanted to say but thought it got distorted with my translation) of your point...
    
    Well let me come to my perspective which actually an evolving one
    
    Say once I used to feel everything is meaningless the moment the football team which I supported lost which was not even in my coutry !!! That silly was my definition of goodness of life which was just measured by the abundance of the points of my team !!!
    
    Right now my expectation is
    -Try to live up to my own expectation with honesty and simplicity
    -Have a peaceful brighter future for kids
    -Fight for justice with my limited ability whenever wherever possible
    -Peace and harmony in family and society where I live
    -Reduced tension around the globe at large
    -Spend some good time with the beauty of nature and creative works as much as possible those all the geniuses of humankind created
    - Helen Hupe 30+
      
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      May 15 2011: A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thee.
    - Debra Smith 200+
      
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      May 15 2011: Interesting isn't it Helen that even though the poets may have been decades (or centuries) and worlds apart the most important things come through! Even so.........you gotta love a guy who adds poetry to the mix!
  - Salim Solaiman 50+
    
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    May 16 2011: Ha ha Helen that i asked for already through Khayaam the great :)
- Jaime Lubin 10+
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  May 14 2011: Salim....the wisdom from Omar Khayaam is the divine wine from the live glass that smiles on my lips.
  Rubayat VIII:....(in spanish)
  
  ¿Hasta cuando continuaremos siendo esclavos de nuestros problemas cotidianos? ¿Que importa vivir un año o un dìa en este mundo? Llenad de vino esa copa antes que nuestros cuerpos se vuelvan polvo y ese polvo se transforme en vasos y vasijas.
  - Salim Solaiman 50+
    
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    May 14 2011: Agree Jaime ,
    But that divine feeling Khayaam only can get if earthly matter around him is fine that's the way I took it.
    I read Rubayat e Omar Khayaam in Bangla Translation which is my language and for natural reason failed to capture the inner meaning with my instinct weakness in English & poetic skill.
    
    Great to meet you really. Poets and poetry really creates bondage across the globe :)
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
    +1
    May 14 2011: Translation of Jaime's entry Rubayat VIII:
    
    How many more times we will continue to be slaves of our day to day problems? What does it matter to live one year or one day in this world? Drink the cup of wine before that our bodies are returned to dust and the dust becomes glasses and jars.
    - Salim Solaiman 50+
      
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      May 15 2011: Thanks Debra for translation
      
      .I think we (me & Jaime )are referring to two different Rubayat then as the inner meaning seems different.
      
      Wine is a very widely used symbol in Rubayat & other persian poetry, you know it sure I am.
lynn eschbach 30+
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May 14 2011: From the bottom of my heart . . . . wish I had lots of money. I'd live on the beach, I'd record and play music, I'd buy the best oil paints, I'd have parties . . . I'd give lots to my favorite charities . . . .etc.

I don't think that's what you're looking for. I think a good life can be:
a comfortable bed,
staying warm and dry in a cold rain,
having enough basic food
fulfilling relationships
honest work
a noble, creative passion for something
and, hope
- Debra Smith 200+
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  May 14 2011: Lynn, thanks so much. May I ask which side is the more 'real' you? Which side has more to offer you?
  - lynn eschbach 30+
    
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    May 14 2011: I spend summers in a rickety popup in the woods on a lake . . . it's a good life as I described above. But, I enjoy coming back to the hustle and bustle of the city and all that it has to offer. Each offers something unique and valuable. All I can say about the real me is that I am adaptable, and I think that is one of the most intriguing traits of human beings. Postnote: I don't buy lottery tickets, but my husband does : )
    - Jaime Lubin 10+
      
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      May 14 2011: I really enjoy to be (as you describe) "unemployed empty nester.....when I discover my strong and firmly objection to "work" as an usefull activity from normal people....so many years ago, i change radically to a very abundant life. But first I have to release me from the heavy stone of "work". You cant have anything more if you have your hands full of dirt. You have to begin with emptynnes to receive properly the abundance. I,m Roman catholic and I believe in the Divine Providence that never let us alone.
- Debra Smith 200+
  - 0
  May 14 2011: Lynn, it sounds like a good life.

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