So what does 30 feel like?

Well, to be honest it feels a lot like 29 did.

It has been a wonderful, quiet, lazy sort of day. We had a friend over for chai this morning and had great conversation with her. After breakfast I went into the woods in search of some more blackberries, and hit the jackpot. Later we will be making one of my favorite blackberry milkshakes…yum! After lunch Briana and I took a walk to the pond and found out that we have a canoe! So we went for a spin around the pond. It was a lot of fun, and it was Briana’s first canoe ride as well. I also got my bike up and running as well. Going for a spin down the hills was very fun, and for the first time ever I realized why those things have gears…to go up! In LA and TX we do not have anything but flat, so I am not sure if I ever really played around with the gears much at all.

I am not really sure what the rest of the day will be like, but I am sure that I will continue to take it easy today, and I hope to make it to bed early this evening. I have some next 30 year type of resolutions that I would like to put into place. Getting to bed early is sort of the mother of all of them.

To everyone who has called and sent a card, thank you so much. It was very much appreciated. Much love to you all.

AS far as this age thing is concerned I think that it is all in the head. Old is a frame of mind, a state of being. My friend has a quote in his book that says it best:

Perpetual Youth
By Swami Rama from “Love Whispers”

"A yogi does not measure his life by the years but by the breaths that he takes.
To say that he is old is an impossibility and a joke.
Old age is a mere reflection of the mind, and not of years.
Weakness and decrepitude creep in for lack of trust in truth, in justice, in oneself, or in ones kinsmen.

These are the signs of old age:
As soon as freshness and interest is gone out of ones life he is old.
When one talks about killing time, he is becoming old.
He who is interested in nothing is old.
He who is timid and afraid to undertake new enterprises is old.
One who has no self reliance is old.
One who repeatedly cries for help is old.
The habitual fault-finder and complainer is old.
One who values mundane wealth more than uplifting thoughts is old.
One who clings to life and does not let go is old.
He who does not enjoy humor and has lost his smile is old.
One who does not enjoy laughter is old.
One who does not enjoy the sound of birds or the beauty of a flower is old.
One who has no control over his limbs and is horrified of death is old.
One who does not enjoy stillness, quietness, and silence is old.
One whose mind is like a crowded bode full of strife and misery is old.
But one who remains in the garden of delight and smiles perpetually is young.
One whose heart is ever fresh, ever green, is ever young.
Even if he has lived for many years, he is better than anyone young.

But why contrast these two, young and old, for they are both childlike. The difference is that in old age the mind remains preoccupied with haunting memories of the past and is full of follies, while at a young age the mind remains preoccupied with curiosities and uncertainties. In old age the mind has had all the experiences. It still has desires that wander into the grooves of old habits, but the body does not follow. At a young age one lacks experience, and wild ambitions try to probe into the heights and depths of doubts and fears, wanting to gain new experiences. They give one zeal and hope, but, still inexperienced he stumbles many a time, hurting, being hurt, always unsatisfied. This hope of expectation keeps him seeking. The young person who lacks will, confidence, hope, and wisdom is not able to accomplish what he wants. In old age the charms have lost their allure, hopes are gone, the experiences are completed. There is nothing new to be relished.

The old man who keeps up his spirits and develops the art of admiring the beautiful is a beautiful old man. He is better than any young person. There are many young people who are like old people, and there are many old people who retain their perpetual youth and remain young.
Someone once said to his beloved, “old age is a matter of mind-if you don’t mind, it does not matter.” Oh old man, keep up your spirits, don’t be lonely. Don’t ever think that you are old, for thinking makes it so."

Blair, that passage was just what the Dr. ordered on a day like today. Thank you.