Simple pleasures in life: Sing songs and read books

I have another big birthday coming up, my great grand daughter, Clementine Mae, has arrived safely and I see the grass is growing green on our lawn. Clearly, life has a way of going on.

Now in my dotage, enlightenment has finally come to me. Those Zen Buddhist from the 6th century had it right: “Do your work, do it well and when you find success, do it again.”

I would add “always hope for the best,” because seniors who have learned to let things happen rather than constantly making things happen tend to live long and well in my observation. Our birthdays, our great grandchildren, the green grass all demonstrate on a daily basis that life moves forward on its own, and there is no need to hurry the endpoint.

I am beginning to see life is really much simpler than we make it out to be. Do we need more programs to quit smoking, eat healthy, and exercise? Do we need more power plays that encourage seniors to walk up and down steps? I think not. What we need are more simple reminders to eat apples when we are hungry, to rest and close our eyes when we are tired. Not everything has to “mean” something. The food we eat, the work we do, the way we talk, the way we walk: let’s take a lesson from modern day Nike and Just Do It.

Seniors today are blessed with a plethora of opportunities to pursue the fountain of youth.

Just note the activities that abound around sports, music, and learning. In my case, I can hardly carry a tune but I am enjoying singing as much as I did as a kid, thanks to Songshine Singers, a program designed for those with Parkinson’s Disease,stroke, and neurological disorders but includes folks like me who have vocal chords that have aged and died.

Music has always been a big part of my life and I am grateful to have new friends to share the good feeling that follows singing out and Climbing Jacob’s Ladder. The program is free of charge and open to anyone wanting to improve their voice through music. Call choir leader Sylvia Clerke at 250-869-9323, contact her by email at syma1943@gmail.com or just show up. The location is the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Springfield Rd. Time is 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Another alto needed a ride home because her Handy Dart was late. When we approached her garage, the door lifted to reveal a party room complete with floor to ceiling drapes, comfortable furniture and a freezer filled with sweet things to eat.

I came home and immediately set about designing a bar in my own garage next to the rakes and shovels. So far, I only have a large bucket filled with white wine, but it’s a start.

I am reminded of an old campfire song titled Make New Friends. Remember Make New Friends, Keep The Old, One Is Silver And The Other Is Gold?

My club is titled Books and Friends Since ’77 and that says it all. Forty years ago, a neighbour put a paperback (probably Wayne Dwyer’s modern zen or a current New Age epistle) in several mailboxes and included an invite to wine and cheese and a discussion of the book. We are still meeting to talk about men, money and sometimes even recent authors and best sellers like Euphoria by Lilly King and Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

We have weathered sickness, wellness, misfortune and success. We still remain dedicated to our friendships and the growing awareness of our good fortune to have one another in our lives. We truly care about one another and have watched children (our own and each others’) grow and establish homes of their own.

We have carried food to weddings and funerals together and are still there for each other in a connection that can only come with the shared passage of time and experiences.

Now that I have added a ‘cat lady’ to my staff, I feel I have just about filled the quota old age has allotted me in terms of help to get through the day, beginning with grooming Merlin and ridding him of all that extra fur that covers every piece of furniture and wood surface in the house.

Having Merlin’s two coats of fur (he is a Maine Coon) trimmed away has changed my life. Now I only have to brush him on Saturdays and can sit around all week while planning the important things, like my next manicure, pedicure, relaxation massage.

I have more and more help with laundry and dry cleaning, a maid service to do the floors and a garden crew that maintains the trees and shrubs. Coco needs to be groomed, play at daycare and both pets require nearby boarding when we are away. No matter how dire the situation, I can always get to my stylist and have my hair done.

My doctor, lawyer, accountant and dentist have become long time friends, for whom I am grateful. Can’t forget my pharmacist and financial guru. Does Mariah Carey really have an assistant to follow her around all day with a lint roller in her hand? Any woman my age will tell you that being incredible and amazing is a full time job.

So I say, sing songs and read books. Life is too short and full of mystery to try and find meaning in it. Finding hope for the future is good enough for most of us. When Viktor Frankl wrote Man’s Search For Meaning, he concluded it was the loving memory of his wife that gave him the courage and strength to carry on in unspeakably difficult circumstances. I think the 1946 book had a huge influence on our generation. He wrote the final wisdom of so many poets and thinkers is the realization that the salvation of man is through love and in love.

Seniors remember the 1986 bestseller, Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.

Robert Fulghum, a Seattle minister, wrote a series of short essays that concluded wisdom is not at the top of the graduate school mountain. How to live, what to do and how to be are the most important considerations. We are encouraged to share everything, be kind to each other and clean up after ourselves. A balanced life consists of work, play and learning.

The Buddha would agree that today’s world would be much happier if we all had a glass of milk, a cookie and a nap in the afternoon.

We talk too much: let’s sing, read books and express our love to one another . . . today.

Jeanette Dunagan is an Okanagan artist who has lived in Kelowna for more than 40 years. Her column appears every second week in the Okanagan Saturday. Email her at jd2399@telus.net.