You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!
By Inlemay
@Inlemay (17713)
South Africa
May 25, 2016 12:42am CST
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
~ Mae West
Philosophical mood seems to have come over me this week with all the talk of retirement, embracing age, looking forward to days and days watching sunsets . . . but this surely is not just the mind-set of a 50+ year old . . . but should rather be the mind-set of everyone.
We cannot prepare for our life's every day experience, that just happens!
The only thing we can prepare for is the privileged possibility of getting old, very old . . . and the community we choose to do so in, and the friends we have till the end, the finances to tide us over, the family to coddle us and constant prayer for the best of health.
I am off to play some lawn bowls with a few friends, they are all 20 or more years older than myself, but they are the bravest aging people I know.
So I leave you with some food for thought - by the hands of my favourite Mr Wilde!
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
~ Oscar Wilde
photo is my own of the Namaqualand Wild Flowers that bloom in Spring.
19 people like this
21 responses
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
25 May 16
That's a nice shot you took of a beautiful scenery 
The flowers may be wild but they are pleasing to the eyes :)
The flowers may be wild but they are pleasing to the eyes :)2 people like this
@Inlemay (17713)
• South Africa
25 May 16
@sunrisefan the tracks are there all year round, the flowers bloom on the non treaded places
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
25 May 16
@Inlemay It's amazing indeed but the tracks show the vehicles are allowed into the site? The tires would kill the flowers :)
1 person likes this
@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
9 Jul 16
@Inlemay - Grudgingly providing a dirt pathway for those noisy, smelly motorcars, Inglemay's Spring flowers link the past and the future with both color and bravado. Who, but a flower, would choose to live in the middle of a road that it would share with Inglemay and her camera? 
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45156)
• Philippines
25 May 16
that is so correct, so make the most of it.
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45156)
• Philippines
25 May 16
@Inlemay how I love the photo you put here, so beautiful
1 person likes this
@annierose (21583)
• Philippines
26 May 16
My eyes get so attracted with the photo you captured. It is really picturesque. Our life must also be like that. It must be inspiring. That should be our legacy.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
25 May 16
Some don't realize until they are closer to the end that they have not been doing it right!
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
25 May 16
well I suppose there are a few things one can do, try to be a better person, try to live within one's means, work on one's health and coping and stress levels etc
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
25 May 16
beautiful picture - now that i'd like to've framed'n on my wall :) loved both quotes 'n agree. folks either procrastinate 'bout the future 'r worry so o'er such that they ferget to live'n the moment.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
26 May 16
@Inlemay to me't speaks volumes'f tranquility'n peacefulness :) yer welcome!
1 person likes this
@josie_ (10034)
• Philippines
25 May 16
No better example for this quote than the life of Mae West. She certainly lived her life to the fullest. I imagine her last words would have been "no regrets". As for Oscar Wilde, he maintain his sense of humor till the end if one is to believe his famous last words, 'Either this wallpaper goes, or I do"
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50253)
• United States
26 May 16
As I get older I do realize what a privilege it is. So many have already passed on .
1 person likes this
@Iam_jauntyjen (5017)
•
26 May 16
The photo looks peaceful
It gives positive vibes. I like the qoutes you've shared. It inspires me to move on.
1 person likes this
@dudibelles (81)
•
25 May 16
What an inspiring thought. Today, I have to say goodbye to 19 of my students.I feel sad but I'm comforted by the fact that with the short two years we've been together, I know I was able to touch their lives in some ways. Have fun and seize the day! :-)
1 person likes this
