There is a grand illusion to us mere mortals that most of us grow to a ripe old age, and we lose a few along the way. Many perhaps do live into their eighties and nineties….but realistically, are the percentages based on fact, or fiction?

I recently had a conversation with a neighbor of mine who shared with me an interesting experience of hers. She attended her 25th High School Reunion where she had a graduating class of 125 classmates, and was shocked to find out that 25 years later, half of the class was deceased. That’s right….only 62 were still alive! She thought about her graduation day when the principal of the school gave an incredible speech on how they all should strive to the limits and climb the mountain of success. In reflection, she said to me, “Jennifer, one little part the principal left out was that in hindsight, he should have told us to put a little time aside each day for staying alive!” President Bush recently turned 60, and a reporter mentioned that over one third of the people born on that day never made it to 60. In my area, I read that a local baby boomers group got together and celebrated the fact that many of them would be retiring next year at 62. What shocked them was also the amount of boomers their age that never made it…one wrote, “Thank God we’re still here.”

So how many of us truly live to a ripe old age? Is it as many as we think? Or is it “Survival of the Fittest?” One thing’s for sure, as busy as our days may be, if we plan to be around for the long haul we’re going to have to find some valuable time to put aside for our maintenance and well -being. If it’s good for the car, it’s good for us!

As I was thinking about this essay over the past couple of days, it was quite interesting that every day I was coming across stories on the subject matter of life and longevity…some of which I was surprised at. Did you know that more people worldwide commit suicide then the amount of people who die from murder and war? I didn’t! As much as we like to think we are indestructible, Life has a strange way of reminding us that we are all just flesh and bones.

I don’t find the truth depressing…because after all, it’s what we don’t know that can hurt us. We are born on this planet and we need food, clothing, and shelter to survive. That’s the physical part…..spiritually we need Love. Everything after that is gravy, totally created by humanity…money, transportation, jobs, etc. Many spend their lives accumulating material goods until one day they realize, do I really need all this junk? when I just need a little to make me happy? Accidents may happen every day….but we have to stay fit physically and spiritually to survive.

Grow old along with me,

love, Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon

This past week I set out to totally revamp my living room. It has been five years since I shifted around the furniture and splashed on a new coat of paint, so it seemed fitting to give my favorite room a new look. It’s quite amazing how we begin to feel comfortable in our surroundings, and after a while we subconsciously start zoning out highlights of a room we spend many hours in. It could be a painting, a couch, or a simple rug…I kid you not, as the months roll by our eyes can easily start factoring them out….until one day when we decide to make some changes….we then look at every square inch to see what stays, and what goes. For me, that time was this week.

As I went about moving the furniture, repainting the wood floor, and repositioning pictures and paintings, it was as if, after a while, the living room itself started to have a conversation with me. Each change I made I felt was done in agreement with the room. This process took two days…the room was transformed, bright and new, while still retaining its original character. I only wanted to give the room a fresh look….while not erasing the memories.

How about you? Have you ever gone through this experience? Possibly so. When you go out to run errands, and return home, the difference can be striking and gratifying. So many of us feel we have to move on to a new house after five years or so….forgetting that it is quite simple to just re-invent the house that we have. A friend of mine who was considering selling his house and moving, fixed it all up to put on sale, and it was at that point he looked around and said, “What, am I crazy? The house is now the way I wanted it all along! So why move?”

As we enter each room in our home, the walls speak back to us of all the time that we have spent in that surrounding. In this day and age, it is so easy to get bored in the shortest span of time. While we forget the history that we are personally creating, revamping our surrounds gives us the opportunity to look back and plow ahead.

If home is where the heart is, it too needs a little tender loving care to let it know how much it means to us.

Home Sweet Home,

love, Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon

Right or Wrong, Up or Down, Good or Bad, Rich or Poor, Left or Right, Love or Hate, War or Peace, God or Godless…these are a few examples of choices that we have to make daily. Each predicament or scenario that stands before us, sometimes at a moment’s notice, in an instant we sometimes have to choose one way or the other. In some cases we don’t get to have the luxury of time and reflection…in these moments we go by gut decisions. Such is Life.

It’s quite amazing, when you think about it, how we humans are able to get so many things right, with the obstacles that we have to overcome. In the year 2006 surprise, surprise, so many are still here! If one was to turn on the evening news and see the havoc that is revealed on a daily basis…a person could easily come to the conclusion that it is nothing short of a miracle how we all can continue to exist together. Each day always brings with it a new set of choices.

Isn’t it strange that most of the answers to complicated problems can be answered quite simply…not complicated, not cluttered, at times with just one line. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if an independent force could intervene in the war between Israel and Lebanon and just say “STOP, put down your weapons, and go home to your families.” It’s as easy as that, STOP killing each other…there can be no winners. The independent force would round up all the weapons and say, “ENOUGH.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to see any more children getting killed for whatever reason….because next year it’ll be something else. Some other place….someone else’s choice….for whatever reason….to kill.

May we all make the right choices, may we find the peace that we so desperately need in this world, may we never forget the light in a newborn’s eyes, may we never forget the last words before someone dies. Perfection may not be obtainable, but growth and contentment can be found within our hearts. As we sail through life, the direction we choose can either leave us lost at sea, or headed for home. We are what we choose.

Choose wisely,

love, Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon

Here we go again folks….the Middle East is erupting into a major confrontation. How long and how far will this go? God only knows. Through the course of our lifetimes we have seen this scenario taking place again and again, each one worse than the last. After awhile one has to wonder…how much more blood does it take for the Middle East to find Peace?

This time around the stakes could not be greater….for the first time the word “nuclear,” has entered the equation. How long will it be until multiple Middle Eastern nations have nuclear arsenals? Rest assured, we are heading down that road. What’s starting to look more difficult to understand is, can nations fight their way to safety? What do you do when nations don’t want to negotiate, don’t want to disarm, and can’t find Peace? Let’s hope it’s not inevitable that we arrive at the Line in the Sand.

I still have hope that the current conflicts in the world will resolve themselves…but what I find troubling is that each time around the wheel the challenges rise further. I pray that cool heads prevail….but with each passing day I am hearing lines on the news that sound eerily like those that got us into two World Wars. Not bad for a planet that has more PhD’s then ever….what are we really learning?

So many people praying daily to one God….yet the only solution that man ultimately comes to is War. Does it really matter what Age we are in if that is the only conclusion we can come to, to solve disagreements? I call on man to implement the true hope of God…that only through Peace can we find lasting progress. It doesn’t take a microscope to see what’s wrong on Planet Earth….let’s hope it won’t take one to find the broken pieces.

Love thy Neighbor,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon

The pit and the perils of everyday life can surround us and reinforce their negativity on us at will. One flick of the television dial and a person instantaneously can be inundated with everything that is wrong about the world. Still, there are far more people, places, and things out there that are wonderful, beautiful, helpful and healing. Joie de Vivre, or in English, Joy of Life, is something we have to protect, nurture and grow in our lives. Life is way too short to allow negative forces to take control and dominate the time that we have left.

What more does Hate fear, then Love? or Despair fear more than Hope? or, does a frown run from a smile? Which action or choice we choose rests with us. We can never get enough of the Joy of Life…we must make it surround us, embrace us, and enhance us. The danger is when we blind ourselves of all the good, and swim in a sea of sludge. We take so much for granted on this earth….that we always expect things to just be. The sun, with all it’s beauty, doesn’t have to rise in the morning….but it does. How many times do we take each minute, hour, day, and year, for granted, as if we have a never-ending, unlimited supply? Well, we don’t….each day is a golden nugget from Heaven, for us to cherish and leave our mark.

Joie de Vivre…taste it, drink it, feel it….it’s nourishment is timeless.

Cheers,

love, Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon