Your life crystallizes when the end is near.  Let me say, no one knows when his/her end comes.  We continue to keep the illusion our life is forever.  It certainly is an illusion.

Everyone knows the only thing certain is death and taxes to use a cliche.  Yet we act as if that truth is false.

My declining health put this truth in sharper focus again.  I do not want to waste time, which is my most precious resource although there are times I squander it.

I realize the more I can do His will, the more I can fulfill my calling the less regret I have.  I certainly can not tell you what your calling is.  Or what your tiny voice is commanding you to do.

First you have to allow open spaces in your life.  And then you can listen to the tiny voice only you can hear.  And life is full of others who are eager to tell us what to do including our loved ones.

No one knows how much time they have on this earth.  That is a great mystery.  Sometimes when you are ill you think you have an idea how long you have here but you really do not know.

What I do know is the more I listen to that tiny voice nudging me the less anxiety I experience in my own life.  And I am concerned less when that time will come.  Peace of mind usually accompanies doing His will.

I have to face each day prayerfully and allow for those empty spaces so I can listen to that tiny voice only I can hear.

And the more I obey it the more peace of mind I have.  And I thank God for each new dawn I face.  It does not really matter as long as I am doing His will.

All I ever did was rub his belly every time he turned over and wanted it.  Atilla The Hun (or Tilla for short), who I call one of my puppies although he is going on two, is now my friend for life.

I realize humans do not want their bellies rubbed but I will tell you for certain each of us wants and needs positive strokes every day from our loved ones.  I do.  Maybe I can’t speak for others.

I tell you one thing humans are notorious for their lack of strokes (or should I call it encouragement).  I try to refrain from criticism.  We are so quick to speak up when someone does us wrong or fails us in some way.

There are many dying from lack of strokes, encouragement, affection from others.  We are so stingy with it.  We all like our “bellies rubbed” every day every time we want it.  Think of “Tilla”.  And the many friends you potentially can make if you take the time to indicate to others how much you truly like (and love them).

Maybe you do not want your belly rubbed but a kind word consistently given to another goes a long way.  So refrain as much as you can from telling another how much they “failed” you.  It is often small things.  It is the small details in life.

Phil Jackson, the great basketball coach who has won nine NBA titles, did not turn around his career until he realized for every criticism he dished out he had to give nine positive strokes to his players.  So many times we have that ratio reversed so think about that.  And how many people you can win over if you use criticism sparingly and learn to find positive things to say about the people in your life consistently.