Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Happy New Year!


I wish you all the beauty and happiness for this New Year!


Please enjoy them both - however and whenever you can - at any age and in every situation!
That's all I am asking of you all, my dear friends and my - known and as yet unknown - readers.
I am a firm believer that there is beauty - and happiness - at every age.
Unfortunately, we do not always accept them - either our beauty ... or our happiness.
What a shame - hopefully a shame of the past years. Not of this budding new one. Please...



I have taken the picture of this beautiful mermaid frolicking in the waters of my most favorite beach in Puerto Rico ( I'll reveal its identity as soon as time permits) during the last weekend of the old year.

She is a new, local friend of mine, a cute as a button, witty and joyful 60+ year's old petite beauty of a woman. We had fun in the waters, had fun hiking and then enjoying a really great lobster dinner at a beach restaurant with a tremendous view. She was so full of joy, so happy... but when I asked her about her New Year's resolutions, she became sad and instead of listing things she wanted to DO, she answered " I wonder if I could ever live again".
I was stunned, not sure I could believe my ears: 'You wonder if you could LIVE again??? What do you mean ? Aren't you LIVING now???"

'You know' she answered 'live: be with somebody, perhaps be married'.
Her answer saddened me. I heard many single women (from their thirties to seventies) wish there were somebody in their lives, who'd love and cherish them, or at least appreciate them for who and what they were.... I heard many wishing to be married. Yet I never heard any one referring to being a part of a couple as "living".
Yeah, a soul mate could be great - if one were lucky enough to find - and recognize - him, a mate could be fun... or useful... or both, but LIFE is what you DO, what you do YOURSELF, whether single or a part of a couple (and actually, I often tend to think that I can live more daring, richer life alone than restricted by being a part of a couple, but perhaps I am dangerously close to the other extreme).

Don't turn your lovely back on life, please. Don't waste it waiting to "live again". NONE of you.

Please....



5 comments:

Ewa said...

Dziekuję za to przesłanie :)
It is great to read this! I am trying to keep this approach all the time, but sometimes my way get slippery :(
Lovely pictures to see at this season (Polish season).
Greetings and Happy Blogging and Living 2008!

Ewa said...

I left a comment here, but it appears that I didn't. Do you have it somewhere? :)

if not again: Happy Blogging and Living 2008

Hannele på Hisingen said...

Riktigt gott nytt år 2008!

Minerva said...

Thanks, Ewa, Hannele. I noticed that my blog seems popular in Middle East and I often try to imagine who actually reads me in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jemen etc. etc. I hope they are women - I hope they are not too shocked, but appreciate, or at least "study" the ways of western women - our freedom of choice and of movement, our social and economic independence. I hope they will gain it, too. I am proud they read my musings. May be one day one of them will even leave a comment. :-)

Anonymous said...

Yes, beautiful post, Minerva. My mother, who is turning 80 in 3 months, lived for my father until he left her for a younger woman. For a long time she was very bitter and angry. Now I know that was her way of getting her power back.

Also, now, she is delightfully single, loves her independence and I am very proud of her. My father, on the other hand, did not fare as well.