Since this life is not a dress rehersal you should live every moment like its your last. Do the things you always wanted to do but were saving for later. Later may never come.
Accent the positives in your life and try to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty.
If necessay spend some time helping out in the childrens hospital, You will soon realize that you have the best that life has to offer. You give what you get. Try to spend time helping others that might need your help. Your rewards will be boundless.
I hope that little discourse has helped you get a better perspective of life.
Be Safe
BM
Note- Stay away from those lap dance bars they are far too expensive for what you get.
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 1:26:08 AM
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 1:26:53 AM
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 2:16:46 AM
I am happy some of the time, unhappy most of the time (before or after joining this hobby). Yet I know that this life flies. What gets you through the day and make the most of the time that each of us has as this life?
Since this life is not a dress rehersal you should live every moment like its your last. Do the things you always wanted to do but were saving for later. Later may never come.
Accent the positives in your life and try to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty.
If necessay spend some time helping out in the childrens hospital, You will soon realize that you have the best that life has to offer. You give what you get. Try to spend time helping others that might need your help. Your rewards will be boundless.
I hope that little discourse has helped you get a better perspective of life.
Be Safe
BM
Note- Stay away from those lap dance bars they are far too expensive for what you get.
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 1:26:08 AM
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 1:26:53 AM
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 2:16:46 AM
I’ve found that what gets me though the day, what makes the most of the time I have in this world, is knowing I have someone to share life’s treasures with.
As an individual, I can appreciate a good Merlot, an incredible sunset over the ocean or the passion that Rachmaninov can bring out in ones self. But for me, what brings life to my soul is having someone incredible that recognizes the same simple pleasures and desires and wants to share their experiences with me.
It’s what I feel many here are searching for…that once-in a-lifetime connection with another being, that I am grateful to have found in life.
No real advice to offer, I wouild imagine many others operate on a different level than me, just letting you know what floats my boat...
Damn, so deep at such an early hour in the morning.
SM 
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life and at the end of the day nothing quite like a very dry martini and BBBJ.
--Robert Louis Stevenson
--VonRyan (end of day antics)
Cheers!
a martini and a BBBJ?
Where's the beef?
Tally-Ho!
Well..it's not as complex as one might think..
If you don't believe in God, pass up this post..
I can think of nothing greater than to
1) learn 'why' YOU are here; what reason you have for Being; what gift you are to mankind; what special void you fill AND...
2)..fulfilling it (action)
To understand the 'message' in each day, first by looking for it, and then by finding and understanding it. To understand the verse "to whom much is given, much is required", and to always see yourself as a person 'to whom much is given'.
To understand that every person who crosses your path today was placed there for a reason. Did you miss the boat, or were you at the helm?
To know that there is no power greater than love and love comes in many forms. It is so easy to do, and yet there's so little of it. It's one Supply-and-Demand that can be met. Heck..exceeded!
I have a number of ways that I keep myself in good spirits - and one of them is pleasurable exercise on a daily basis. Getting in better and better shape raises my energy level, and my self-esteem by knowing I look good, and probably releases endorphins on my beautiful walks up and down the San Francisco hill.
Also, re-connecting with my spiritual side.
Also, sharing moments (for better and for worse) with long-term friends keeps me connected to others.
But especially, Hope, and Vision - for a great partner, for an even better life, and my taking small steps at a time to get what I want.
Hope this helps,
Atria
It sounds like you've been depressed a long time and it's pretty established in your "mind-body" interaction - meaning it's both a part of a psychological pattern and has a neuro-chemical correlate.
Sometimes anti-depressants can help a person shift the chemical part so that they can see what a different state of being looks like. Of course, there can be downsides to this. But for some, the depressed psyche is pretty deeply rooted and the drugs are a god-send.
And then there are all the actions one can undertake to develop a new perspective. It's easy to say, "get a new perspective," but a little harder to authentically shift the way one sees. Perhaps the best book I ever read re this is by a psychiatrist, Roger Walsh, The Essential Spirituality. He looked at the major religions and distilled what he thinks are common among them and then added the perspective of western science and psychology.
I'm in my 50's. At 25 I had no clue how not to feel discouraged and depressed. For me the way up has taken a lot of maturing - becoming conscious of how I think & what I want, acknowledging my own cruelty to others & changing, not running away from what I wanted to do or be because I was afraid, and having faith that the very highest vision I have of life was worth betting the ranch on. So it can be done….
21 Suggestions for Success – by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
1 Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2 Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3 Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4 Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5 Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6 Be generous.
7 Have a grateful heart.
8 Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9 Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10 Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11 Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12 Commit yourself to quality.
13 Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14 Be loyal.
15 Be honest.
16 Be a self-starter.
17 Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18 Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19 Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20 Take good care of those you love.
21 Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.
would hobbying make your mom proud 
with my words, deeds, or feelings, and then basking in the warmth I feel on the occasions that those things are returned to me.
I live each day for what it is and try to get the most out of life. Karma is important for me, so whatever I can do for someone else comes back full.
Hugs,
Ciara
My secret to finding the strength to meet each day is the hope that my LOTTO number will hit on the next draw.
I truly envy the other people here who have such a spiritual strength & drive to continue. However; For me its the selfish hope of winning the means to afford fast cars, fast motorcycles and unrestricted hobbying.
(What did you expect from a guy named Cynicalman?)
I have found that being true to yourself helps a lot.
The late Edward Abbey once said, "I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace. The rest is only hearsay."
happiness almost daily, derived from simple pleasures like a sunrise, a soak in the jakuzzi, a particularly good wine or good smoke, a rainbow, a cool breeze, a hummingbird visiting my roses.... you get the picture. Then of course, there is the ultimate pleasure, which as you point out, requires sufficient amounts of cash, whether you pay as a hobbyist, a dater or a husband, it still costs!
be attained. That's why instead of relying on my own accomplishments and actions for happiness, I take pleasure in the things that cannot really be perfected. (See post above)
Smoking a nice, aromatic Cuban cigar after drinking a bottle of 1982 Mouton and then being able to kick back with one of these fine ladies here! There's nothing finer! That is what has kept me so young after all these years.
Why are you here? Because you believe you are seperate. What reason do you have for Being? Because a perfect Being created you perfect like Itself. What gift are you to mankind? You are the salvation of mankind! What special void do you fill? You are the Light of the world. How do I fulfill this function? Forgiveness is my only function here. To understand that every brother you meet is either your executioner or your savior, which shall you choose? There is no power greater than Love. In truth there is no other power!Although Love comes in many forms, you are not It's source. However you can learn how to remove the blocks to the awareness of Love's presence, which is your natural inheritance.
My motto is, and always has been..."if it feels good, then do it! And if it feels realy good, then do it several times."
-- Modified on 5/27/2004 8:30:13 PM
For me it's cultivating mindfulness. I try to greet each day with an open mind. If I'm in an uncomfortable situation, I ask myself, "What's the lesson for me in this?" Invariably I'll be reminded of something I learned in the past. Sometimes I'll learn something about myself through that unpleasant situation.
I learned about mindfulness by reading these books:
A Year To Live by Stephen Levine
Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau
All very helpful.
But of course I've blown that one already, now.
/Zin
I'm glad that you 'fess up' to being unhappy most of the time. Most of us would deem that pathological and try to medicate ourselves out of the state. But, in reality, life is fundamentally bleak. We are born, we live and then we die. To be happy most of the time would require us to ignore our mortality.
The important thing to me is to realise that our time on this planet is short and that we should leave the world a better place when we shuffle off this mortal coil (to quote Monty Python). That means doing good whenever we can. If you find a wallet on the street full of money (or more often empty) send it back to whoever lost it if you can. Give up your seat on the bus or train to someone who needs it. Be pleasant to the person who serves you food or answers your queries in a call centre. Walk to the video store to return that DVD instead of spewing out greenhouse gases from your gas guzzling SUV. In short, always adhere to the maxim of 'doing unto others as you would have done to you'.
Be aware of your karmic balance sheet and always try to keep the assets higher than the liabilities. Then you can really look yourself in the mirror each morning and affirm that you are a good person.
and entertained by the simpleist things. It is sad but I an find easy amusement in watching leaves move in the wind. I am fascinated by watching motes of dust fall through beams of sunlight. I lookg for patterns and pictures almost everywhere. And the funny thing is I don't have to take drugs to see them! Just a very vivid imagination. I see beauty everywhere, and in the most unlikely things. I truly am a simple creature.