Source: 38. My personal Atonement
Category: Uncategorized
I am hoping to become a little tidier with my posts. I became mixed up publishing How to Grow Old the Right Way Up through this, my personal blog/page.
Since I have such variety of interests, I will endeavour to publish different interests through different site/blogs, therefore if you follow one, you won’t need to be flooded by posts too often or on matters that don’t interest you.
I will be changing this page very soon too reflect that.
In the meantime, my new blog Foreignwonderer.wordpress.com, is about the eternal foreigner in wonder that I am. I am in wonder about the world that surround me. About the people of the earth… about life… about me…
If you want to know more, have a look at my websites
http://www.patrissiacuberos.com
http://www.thethermodynamicsoflove.co.uk for updates on the forthcoming printed publication of the first novel of the trilogy, The Secret Life of a God, and other news.
How to Grow Old the Right Way Up
Saturday 31st January 2015
28. Something to look forward to…
Yes… we all need that. I discovered it while sinking into the emptiness of depression of a life, that seemed to me at the time, a complete failure.
My love life was, to all appearances, fine. In spite of a hand to mouth existence, I had a nice husband and two gorgeous children
I had always thought and dreamed that poverty was not an obstacle if, paraphrasing the Catalan songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat, “…the horizon is light and the path, a kiss..” (Si el horizonte es luz y el rumbo un beso).
But, those like me, who have been squeezed nearly to death by the paws and claws of poverty, know that that is only a dream. A loving kiss with at least some food in your belly, a roof over your head, and the certainty of being able to survive is very different to the daily gripping anxiety for your children and partner and yourself, when all doors seem closed and there is no paternalistic state to help you cover, even the minimum of your needs and health care. We are so lucky in this country, that American writer Patrick Harrington in his very interesting book, When Science meets Religion, describes it as nearly an Utopian paradise… Sadly many people don’t know what they have until they lose it!
I am digressing heavily! All I wanted to say is that in those very dark moments, I created the goal of becoming a writer in my old age, and a grandmother. That has kept me going through all the difficulties and anxieties of failure and solitude and, it is indeed my most permanent and unshakeable reason for constant joy.
Today, I have given birth to the first child of my brain, Book I of The Thermodynamics of Love Trilogy, The Secret Life of a God. If all goes well, it will be on the Amazon Shelves tomorrow, in time for my birthday. Its age is debatable though. If I count from the moment of gestation, I have given birth to a teen-ager. It celebrated its 15th birthday this past January!
Happy reading of it or of anything else you enjoy reading and… keep your goal alive even if each one takes you 15 years to accomplish!
How to Grow Old the Right Way Up
Saturday 28th March 2015
- Earth Hour: Turning on the Inner Light
Tonight, as even great landmarks of our civilization turn their lights off, I plan to turn on my inner light and to have a good look around.
Usually the noise, bustle and, indeed, the bright lights of modern life keep us going forwards more by force than by purpose. Perhaps they are preventing us from growing old the right way up: towards the light.
What I just wrote, made me reflect on the fact that I tend to perceive light as above me. Yet, I know it shines ever so brightly in the centre of my heart and mind whenever, truth, love, faith and hope guide each one of my steps.
I hope we all keep the inner light turned on, as we approach each stage of our lives.
We all know that growing old has very bad publicity. The fault is not in our stars, but in the advertisers: ourselves.
I propose that we correct that. At the tender age of 61, I am living the happiest time in my life; the easiest time in my life; the most joyous time in my life. Mind you, I planned it that way.
Between the ages of 37 and 41, when I was supposed to die according to the lines on my palm, but mostly according to my mental and physical poor health, I created a plan for accepting the dreaded old age with all its trail of ills and struggle.
I reasoned that I should have something to look forward to. Then I thought that having grandchildren would be lovely. They haven’t arrived yet, and the potential parents are mostly reluctant or too young. However, joy is here!
I decided that I would have an activity that I could carry on or even start in my old age, (I believe lots of people die of sheer boredom!) then I drag out of the bag of memories my 8-year-old cherished desire to become a writer some day, published read and loved. This blog is only my third appearance in front of someone else’s eyes, after a couple of years as collaborator and Editor (once!) of the short-lived Banbury Magazine and a shy appearance in the modest Wheel Magazine. But hey! I am a published writer!
Although the publication date for my first novel, The Secret Life of a God (Book I of The Thermodynamics of Love Trilogy, which started as a single novel in 2000) keeps peeping at me from a forever extending horizon, it will be self-published, hopefully, within the next couple of months. That was a non-disguised attempt at a publicity stunt!
I decided also to do whatever I could to improve my health and therefore my quality of life. And here I am, healthier than I remember in the last 20 or 40 years. Hurrah!
But, along the way I have discovered many other simple, but life quality enhancing, bits and bobs. For example, when I reached 60, I realized I didn’t have to be perfect. I didn’t have to know everything or to have the right answers. It took me that long! I hope you realize sooner than me.
I realized that I could never make my thighs smaller or my boobs bigger, but that thank God, at my age I wasn’t expected to be pretty or beautiful or attractive. Therefore, anything I had and have in those departments is a bonus! I do love when people express surprise when they learn my age. It doesn’t always happen, but it doesn’t depress me or bothers me in the least if they don’t.
I realized that I could take things easy. My level of obligations to myself and others seem to have decreased in inverse proportion to my age.
I wrote this blog every Saturday till the beginning of June come what may. But I have no obligation, and no one is asking for it. If you do, I will be delighted of course.
I also felt that the blog needed another element. Therefore, I will be starting a series of Vlogs soon with more practical advice, taking stock of experiences that in my view have helped me to Grow Old the Righ Way UP.
If you have any experiences to share that will constitute positive advertising for growing old, do please drop us a line or post a comment here at howtogrowoldtherightwayup.wordpress.com, or on my FB personal or blog pages.
Till next time.
By the way if you are curious at all, have a look at my other blog, the Science of the Improbable, and at my websites: www.patrissiacuberos.com and www.thethermodynamicsoflove.co.uk
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS
1. I am not a health practitioner of any description. The tips I will be giving are directly related to my personal experience and my experiences with family and friends who seem to have benefited from those tips. Please if in doubt, always consult a qualified practitioner.
2. With their permission I will be mentioning in these pages the names and expertise of many people who have contributed to my current state of health. See also the Links page. Whenever possible and relevant, I will be leading you to their websites or giving you a direct contact if you ask me. Nobody is or will be paying me or rewarding me in any way for doing so. I will be doing it because they are wonderful practitioners, to whom I owe much and to whom I am very happy to direct people to, for the benefit of all. I don’t and won’t recommend anyone whose help and expertise I haven’t experienced and benefited from directly.
Sunday 13th July 2014
24. Sunday in the mind.
If you have been following this blog, you might have noticed that I have always published my posts on a Saturday. It has been my morning dedicated to this specific task.
Today, you know, it’s Sunday. I had decided to give a break to this blog as it has become increasingly difficult to commit the time on Saturdays with anniversaries (plural!) end of year concerts with my choirs, travel, etc.
But today I realized once more, how creative my mind becomes on Sundays. For years, until my health made me stop, I used to work 24/7. Nowadays my main commitment on Sundays is to make sure I keep away from any and all “have to do”. As a consequence, I am often far more productive and faster than any other day of the week.
Therefore, I am going to endeavour to create a feeling of Sunday in my mind, whenever I have the space and the time. Let me know if you try and if it works for you.
Till next time… some time on a Sunday in my mind.
For something completely different, have a look at my new blog, The Science of the Improbable.
http://www.patrissiacuberos.com
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS
1. I am not a health practitioner of any description. The tips I will be giving are directly related to my personal experience and my experiences with family and friends who seem to have benefited from those tips. Please if in doubt, always consult a qualified practitioner.
2. With their permission I will be mentioning in these pages the names and expertise of many people who have contributed to my current state of health. See also the Links page. Whenever possible and relevant, I will be leading you to their websites or giving you a direct contact if you ask me. Nobody is or will be paying me or rewarding me in any way for doing so. I will be doing it because they are wonderful practitioners, to whom I owe much and to whom I am very happy to direct people to, for the benefit of all. I don’t and won’t recommend anyone whose help and expertise I haven’t experienced and benefited from directly.
patrissiacuberos 