You Are The Engineer Of Your Life

A study in how you can change your life, if you want to do so.

Never expect, never demand, never ask, never assure.

Just let it be, because if it is meant to be, it will happen the way you want things to be

Some people expect everything to go their way and when it does not go their way, they get very upset and think “why me?” Others simply wait for things to happen, good or bad and when it does occur, they feel that they have no say in what is happening to them.

I am of the perspective that somehow, we have the power to change our destiny by trying new things, accomplishing new happenings and thinking the greatest few words you can utter or think “I can achieve, effect and bring to fruition, the things I desire”. It is never too late to feel this way. People are living longer and having more satisfying lives now days. They do things that our grandparents and great grandparents never dreamed could be done over fifty.

People go back to college at ages over fifty, they learn to dance over fifty, and they travel to faraway places at many advanced ages. They go into business and try new sports over fifty. If you think you can do it, you probably can do it. There is a book written by my email friend Prill Boyle that tells of women who defy gravity and attain great pleasure after fifty doing things they never thought they could do. I know someone who at age fifty, sky dived. She always wanted to do that and when she hit the magic number, she went and did it. She had fun doing it and shared the moments with her teenage son who also took part in this feat.

I mentioned before in an article of a woman who learned to drive at age seventy-two, and she also went back and got a college degree. I know a man who became a father of twins at age fifty. He is delighted and so happy. His wife was forty-two and they tried for eight years and this marvelous event happened.

I heard from my dancing friends who live in Washington State and they are over in Hawaii for the 32nd year of teaching the people to dance and to love to dance. She is about sixty-seven and he is just about seventy-seven. They fly there from Washington State and go for two weeks and are welcomed with great joy and happiness by the Hawaiian people, who eagerly await their trip each spring. Perhaps, one day, it will get a bit hard to travel at those ages; but while they can, they can with sweetness in their good hearts and joy to be able to do this. Their names are Ikuko and Steven and they are marvelous examples of happy people, doing happy things at a happy time in their lives. He had a partner named Mary and he did it with her for about 27 years and she passed on at about 90. Now he dances with Ikuko for about 6 years and they are full of vim, joy and the desire to continue on for many, more years.

I know of people who retire and then go on and do something else either for a salary or for volunteerism. I met a man today who worked as a police office in the city of Baltimore, retired and now does a similar work and his employer is the State of Maryland. He is about almost sixty-two years of age.He loves his new venue better than his former job.

Today, going down in the elevator in my doctor’s building, a part time doctor in the office was going down with us. As he asked us what floor we wanted, I said “remember when the department stores all had a lady opening and closing the elevator door and as she reached each floor, would announce what departments were there.” She would say “floor five, linens, men’s’ shirts, children’s toys.” At first, I thought he would deny knowing this fact; but I knew he was older than me and if he did, he would be lying. He did acknowledge it and even added he remembered on those same elevators, she would have to do something like crank it up first with an instrument and then shut the doors.

I can see that as if it was yesterday, going in the elevator and hearing all that. You all probably remember when you pulled up at a gas station and a fellow came out and filled it up for you, washed your windows and checked the air in your tires.

I remember in about 1985, there appeared in restaurants the wonderful new thing called salad bars. You took your plate and walked over to the bar and filled it with all kinds of salad items, some fattening, some diet type and the most luscious dressings ever made. They are mostly gone now, if you want a salad, they bring it to you all made up,

There are lots of things to remember about the past, but to say never to expect, demand or even ask, is a bit out of focus of daily living. If we never expect anything good to happen, it will not. If we ask about something, sometimes it can become a good reality. We do not have to demand of anyone, we have to demand of our self to accomplish, attain and adore what there is to receive. We are the engineers of our life and we steer our machine which is our body to activate desires and to make them come true.

Press the delete button on any negative thoughts you may have about not realizing your dreams. Press the forward button on things you want to do now, regardless of what age you are. I am not saying to go sky diving at age eighty, but you can learn to ballroom dance at that age. I am not saying you should learn to drive a car at age eighty, but you can drive a car at that age, if you have been driving previously and it is just another day in your life. I know of a lady who at age sixty is raising her twelve year old granddaughter and everyone thinks she is the kid’s mom. She does this out of necessity and she is doing one splendid job of being there for this preteen, because the parents are unable to take care of her. I know of a lady who is about seventy-two and she is determined to find a husband for a niece of hers who is unmarried. Whenever, she meets a young unmarried fellow, she tries to pair him up with her niece. Finally, about two months ago, a young man she met at her job, took her unmarried niece out and it seems to look like something may be happening in the romance department.

So the saying mentioned above is one we can take apart and renew its words differently. Where it says never expect, that is wrong, if we give up on expecting things to happen, then we have given up completely on life; if we never demand of our self, then we do not succeed; if we never ask, we may never meet new people; and if we never assure, we never guarantee any happiness in our future.

Go out and expect great things, demand of yourself the highest points you can attain, if we never ask, then we have stopped vocalizing our desires and if we never feel assurance, then we never will feel confidence in our own soul or heart.

Your new slogan should be as of now: demand, expect, ask, assure. See what happens. DEAA. Elita Sohmer Clayman Fairfax Station Patch