Now that Thanksgiving Day has come and gone in the U.S. we begin the countdown to the Christmas Holiday with what is commonly called Black Friday. All the advertisers want us to believe that if we spend the next 25 days shopping our hearts out, we’ll feel fulfilled, loved and save a lot of money doing it. But we know better don’t we? Today and during the next month let’s do our best remembering that less really is more. What we really crave is connection, hope, love, freedom and meaning–oh, and good health as well. None of that can be bought. Thanks to Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist for inspiring this week’s photo blog quote.
Unfortunately, the short answer to that question is, “Not always.” While I usually start out my posts a little more optimistically, this idea has me wondering. Why? Because as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been listening to a bunch of lectures by a man named 
This last week I happened to find and listen to an online interview of a woman named Karen Sands who calls herself a positive aging futurist. While I’ve never really thought of myself as a one, and I’m guessing you haven’t either, she made a convincing argument for why we should all at least think about it. Why? Because as I’ve written about before, and she confirmed in her own way, if we want to know where we are headed in life, having a clear destination is critical. That doesn’t mean you can’t adjust or change as life unfolds. But it does offer a target that will likely include a future we want to experience. 
I’m fairly sure that I first received my first AARP solicitation when I was only a few months shy of 50. What? How did they know my age and why would they think I was interested? Not only had I not even considered retiring, the idea of getting older was still very foreign to me. In fact, I wasn’t even willing to admit I had hit midlife, let alone become a senior. But things change and here I am 14 years later. And yes, I am now a card-carrying member of AARP. This last weekend I sat down and read one of their latest publications and that got me thinking about why I find them helpful—and what I find annoying. Interested? 
Did you smile today? It matters—at least according to research by college professor, psychologist, and author Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D. Yet most of the time we tend to believe that a smile, while nice in the moment, is too tiny or inconsequential to make much of a difference. But according to Fredrickson every smile, and all the other positive emotions we have during the course of the day, add up to tremendous benefits to the quality of our mental, emotional and physical health. So yes, it matters whether you smiled today. In fact, it could be one of the most important things you do for yourself or others as your future unfolds. 
Unless you live in a very remote area and are essentially off the grid, you know that our world is facing at least two major challenges—climate change and political corruption. But before you stop reading because you think I’m going to get political (I’m not) and/or tell yourself neither of those have anything to do with you, I beg to differ. I do agree it is tempting to just pretend everything is just fine, or distract ourselves into believing those issues are someone else’s problem. However, I don’t think that’s the SMART approach. That’s because it is obvious to me that the people and the world around us have a significant influence on our wellbeing, our health and particularly our future. So regardless of what country you live in or what side of the fence (wall) you happen to be on, you and the people you care about are being touched by world events. What do we do? I believe there are three things we all can do to stay sane, relatively happy and hopeful in the days ahead.