The following is taken from a book written by Narcotics Anonymous.  It is a book that I studied in Rehab and still refer to regularly as food for thought…  I have many friends in recovery who belong to a Just for Today group (JFT).  They check in with each other each morning, read the reading together, and share their thoughts…all to keep on the right path.
August 30 - Doing Good, Feeling Good
“We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've been doing better than we've been feeling. - Basic text, page 43
The way we treat others often reveals our own state of being.  When we are at peace, we’re most likely to treat others with respect and compassion.  However, when we’re feeling off centre, we’re likely to respond to others with intolerance and impatience.  When we take regular inventory, we’ll probably notice a pattern: We treat others badly when we feel bad about ourselves.
What might not be revealed in an inventory, however, is the other side of the coin: When we treat others well, we feel good about ourselves. When we add this positive truth to the negative facts we find about ourselves in our inventory, we begin to behave differently.
When we feel badly, we can pause to pray for guidance and strength. Then, we make a decision to treat those around us with kindness, gentleness, and the same concern we would like to be shown. A decision to be kind may nurture and sustain the happiness and peace of mind we all wish for. And the joy we inspire may lift the spirits of those around us, in turn fostering our own spiritual well-being.”
Just for Today: I will remember that if I change my actions, my thoughts will follow.

Chapters in our lives open and close as we move through our lives.  For example, moving on after a divorce, after a death of a spouse, after the kids have left home, when you retire, etc. etc.
When a phase of our lives moves into our past memories, there is a mourning period for sure.  As time moves on, others may encourage you to move on.  
At the same time, we are bombarded with information on how to live longer….”magic potions”, miracle serums, medicines, surgeries.  
But we all know that it isn’t just about hitting more birthdays, it is about quality of life…living life to the fullest.
One choice is to not see other opportunities to experience in life, and settle into a poor me mode….watch TV, go out just for the necessities, answer the phone, but never make the calls yourself, and generally feel sorry for the losses and changes.
Another choice is to look for opportunity doors to other experiences. Change it up, experience something new, do things differently and enjoy.  
Staying healthy is not just physical well being by exercising and eating healthy.  It is also about taking care of our mental, emotional and spiritual health.
As I have a family history of Alzheimers, only one form of dementia, I have been seeing a new senior’s Doc about being pro-active about keeping my brain going. 
There is an old story about a Convent in Montreal.  A study was done over a number of years, as when the Sister’s got older in this particular facility, they developed Alzheimers prior to their last years.  The fact was that the Sister’s had been doing the exact routine for most of their lives, with little difference, and developed some form of the disease.  
The question was raised, “What if the Sister’s changed up their routines and used different parts of their brains…would the history change?”  So Mother Superior oversaw the Sister’s starting to change up some of their daily routines, and also to use their brains differently.  She also enrolled the Sister’s in taking Violin Lessons.   
During the course of the study, the testing showed dramatic differences in their brains and a diminishing onset of the dementia.
So I challenge you to consider a few things:

• If you are driving somewhere, take a different route to stimulate your brain.  
• If you walk or cycle daily, take a different route, change it up and smell different roses along the way
• On the Canadian news a few days ago, a woman went skydiving for the first time….she was 100
• Try life long learning.  Keep the brain agile by learning something new.  If you are savvy with the internet, perhaps there is a course on line.  Or take out a book from the library on a subject that is new to you.  Senior Centres in most cities have short courses to take.  My husband went to one a few years back to learn Tai Chi
• If you read mysteries, change it up and read a memoir, or a historical fiction (Sarah Ferguson has written a few that are excellent)
• Volunteer…a hospital, a food bank, your place of worship, help a friend is no longer able to do certain things
• Travel if you are still able, to meet new people, to try something different

Watch for new Doors, and step inside….you never know what you will discover   The number of Birthdays you have experienced has nothing to do with your ability to peek into a new doorway.
“Time does not change us.  It just unfolds us.”  - Max Frisch

 “Enlightenment is always there. Small enlightenment will bring you great enlightenment. If you're breathing and are aware that you are alive – that you can touch the miracle of being alive – then that is a kind of enlightenment.”
                - Thich Nhat Hanh
I am striving everyday to approach my day with positivity and JOY.  Some mornings, even with the best intentions of positive, uplifting thoughts and words, I get thrown off the course!  Very often I get thrown off my intention by what others around me say.  For example, I do not like swearing language, and can be tempted to “correct” someone.  Personally I find it offensive and frightening at times.  I have come to see that not everyone understands the power that positive, non threatening, compassionate words can have on another.  On the other hand, I have come to realize that some may be stuck in old patterns of negativity.
It seems that some are in a negative mindset, and perhaps out of habit (and their comfort zone), their first instinct is to communicate in the form of complaining and criticizing.  It speaks to the old saying that some “see the glass half empty vs. half full”.
Depending on the situation and the company, we do have the option of walking away and continue on our positive path.  Sometimes it may be appropriate to address the negativity by pointing out the sunnier side of the conversation.  Other times, I may remain silent and not further the conversation, which sends a silent message in itself. I find for me, I feel better even if the other party doesn’t pick up on it.
In June of this year I went to hear Eckhart Tolle speak.  He talked of an example he experienced while driving.  A driver was irritated with him,   perhaps he said because he drives slowly.  At the red light, the man was gesturing to him and yelling for him to get off the road.  Eckhart said he just looked at him….no anger, no reaction, no emotion as the man went on and on.  He felt better, but the man was probably even angrier, however it did not affect Eckhart’s day.  He knew that responding to the anger of another would not help, or solve anything.  Great example of walking away.
“I can complain that the rose bush has a thorn, or that the thorn bush has an amazing rose….it is up to me”
I have found that people are getting used to me in terms of my endeavour to see life more positively.  I also have found that it is catching on, and either others are moving to the positivity or perhaps just humouring me…either way I continue to reach for the goal of not allowing others take away my JOY.
What if everyone around you was more positive?  What if all your co-workers or neighbours were more positive?  Would it make a better atmosphere for you to work in or live in?  Could you actually make a tiny difference in our world?