Life Celebration Ripple Effect

The Life Celebration Ripple Effect. Like Martin Luther King, I, jeff noel, have a dream. And as Gandhi challenged, we must become the change we wish to see in the world.

Let the change start with the elders. Let the male Baby Boomers step up as they begin retiring, to help clean up the world’s mess before they die.

And let the power of The Movement begin to ripple out to Baby Boomer women, Gen X men & women, Gen Y men & women, Millennial men & women, Gen Z too.

But wait, the Life Celebration Ripple Effect goes farther and deeper than anyone imagines.

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Maybe Everyone Else Is Wrong

Lane 8, Impossible?
Lane 8, Impossible?

“When everybody tells you that you are being idealistic or impractical, consider the possibility that everybody could be wrong about what is right for you.”Gilbert Kaplan

Guest Blogger Lorie Sheffer

Spring Grove, Pennsylvania
Spring Grove, Pennsylvania

Mid Life Celebration readers, I am pleased to introduce our Guest Blogger, Lorie Sheffer, from York, Pennsylvania. Lorie and I graduated from Spring Grove Area High School in 1997 1977. Lorie has a spin on midlife that will entertain and enlighten you. You are in for a treat. Take it away Lorie….

My email box usually contains at least one “Stupid, clueless men” joke a week, sent by my gal pals. The most recent: Q: What is gross stupidity?  A: 144 men in one room.

This is one of the kinder jokes. Most involve man parts and the use/misuse of said parts. I’m not so politically correct or dishonest as to say some of this stuff isn’t pretty darned funny. But underneath it all there is this undercurrent of a battle of the sexes as to who has it rougher, especially when it comes to aging. As a woman who has always had male friends, I seem to find myself defending men more and more often these days.


I was out shopping with my grandson a few years ago and the check out girl at the grocery store, when speaking to him, referred to me as “Mom”. “She’s my grandmother”, Carter corrected her. I actually looked into that sweet little face of his and asked him to “Shut it!”  Actually, since I am trying to be honest, it was more of a hiss. Was I becoming so age obsessed that I had hoped if some kid who had an after school job checking groceries mistook grandma for mom that magically made it so?  As if “Grandmother” is a dirty word.  No wonder my grandson looked puzzled. To a small child, Grandma equals magic!


This was about the time the realization hit me. We women are so obsessed with our changing hormones and expanding waist, our hot flashes and our mood swings, we seem to forget that aging is no picnic for the men, either. We tend to talk about it, while men seem to remain quiet for fear of appearing weak. Notice what the overwhelming theme of the commercials are when “guy shows” are on TV. They usually involve a 50-something couple in claw foot bathtubs (I still don’t understand the tubs), baby boomers giving one another “that look” before dancing down the hallway toward the bedroom, or my personal favorite, the teenaged girls advising newly divorced Dad he would be dateable if he used some man-color on that gray hair of his. (Maybe someone should tell Mr. Clooney and Mr. Gere they would be attractive to women if only they hit the Grecian Formula.)


I honest to God have a male friend who colors his chest hair to cover the gray.  If men aren’t lucky enough to have hair TO color, then surely they can send for some Rogain. Because, grand sense of humor that God seems to have, men start to lose hair where they want it around the same time women sprout hair in places that send them running to the waxing salons in droves.


Our age group is being bombarded by an industry that is literally making billions of dollars by playing to our insecurities, when in fact most times all you need is some dim light and a little patience. Most men would be thrilled to have their wives call them sexy or hot of whatever words we use to describe the above-mentioned George and Richard. I would be willing to bet most men are so concerned with their own age related issues that they don’t notice if our legs (or chins) are freshly shaved.


Test it out; say something nice to your significant other. Give a genuine compliment once a day, and let them know you appreciate them. Really, I think that’s all any of us wants. Maybe if we all just stepped outside of ourselves and tried to see through the eyes of the opposite sex, we would realize that we all have our issues. We’re in this together.


A friend sent me an email forward photo of a pretty teenaged girl, circa 1968; below the photo was the question, “Where are the cute hippie girls from the 60s?”

I scrolled down to another photo, this of a totally naked, very overweight, out shape, gray haired woman in her 60s. She was covered with stretched out and faded tattoos of Woodstock era images. She wore only flip-flops as she walked down the street, head held high.  Amazingly, she looked happy.


Humor goes a long way, so long as the object of the joke is laughing WITH us.  As Robert Browning wrote over a century ago, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”

Money Top Ten Questions

MONEY
MONEY

Top ten MONEY questions you should have answers to:

1.  Do you spend less than you earn?

2.  What is your net worth (assets minus liabilities)?

3.  Do you have a CPA and Attorney?

4.  Do you have a will?

5.  Is your image tied to your possessions?

6.  How much do you donate to charity?

7.  Do you have a passive income source(s)?

8.  How are your investments and assets diversified?

9.  What size is your rainy day fund?

10.  What’s your retirement date, and plan afterwards?

These are the basic, fundamental questions you should have ready answers to. Money is the one most people struggle with understanding how it works.

There is a Peace that surpasses all anxiety, when we have a solid, practical, and proactive approach to Money.

SPIRIT Top Ten Questions

SPIRIT
SPIRIT

Top ten SPIRIT questions you should have answers to:

1.  What is Love?

2.  What is more important than Love?

3.  What is Hate?

4.  What is worse than Hate?

5.  How does the mind or body influence Spirit?

6.  If you or your dearest loved one was dying, what would you do?

7.  How do you count your blessings?

8.  Whom do you thank for your blessings?

9.  How often do you pray?

10.  What’s at the very center of your spiritual beliefs?

These are the basic, fundamental questions you should have ready answers to. If not, you will not have Joy in your Spirit, nor will you have Peace in your Soul.

It’s that simple.