Monday, August 13, 2012

Everybody's Free

Following on from yesterdays take of ordinary days...

I've posted this before, then again I've posted a few others before too. There are those days that seem like any other, and then a Tuesday strikes.  "Everybody's Free" is one of those tracks that describes this properly.  Baz Luhrmann gets it right in a mixture of poetry and song.  That said, the poetry comes from Mary Schmich although I'm not sure about the music.

Ultimately while vary wary of Monday's, it's Tuesdays that haunt me the most...  Just those random days, they start like any other...


Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '99. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my 
own meandering experience... I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh, 
nevermind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until 
they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself 
and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before 
you and how fabulous you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine. 

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that 
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by 
chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in life are apt to be things that never 
crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. 

Floss. 

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself. 

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing 
this, tell me how. 

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements. 

Stretch. 

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. 
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do 
with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still 
don't. 

Get plenty of calcium. 

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone. 

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you 
won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40. Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on 
your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate 
yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, 
so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what 
other people think of it... it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. 

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. 

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. 

Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make you feel UGLY. 

Get to know your parents, you never know when they might be gone for good. 
Be nice to your siblings; they're your best link to your past and the 
people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should 
hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the 
older you get, the more you need the people you knew
when you were young. 

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in 
Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel. 

Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise, Politicians will 
philander, you too will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when 
you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children 
respected their elders. 

Respect your elders. 

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, 
maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might 
run out. 

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. 

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. 
Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of fishing the past 
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and 
recycling it for more than it's worth. 

But trust me on the sunscreen. 

Idle Tuesdays, beware idle Tuesdays...

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