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200 words, darkness, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, health, lonliness, nothingness, peace, priorities, simplicity, Stephen Covey, too much going on, white noise
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities….The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. ~ Stephen Covey
photo credit: last.fm
Is this you?
Is your life full of stuff? Is there so much going on you can’t hear yourself think? Is every person, everything vying for your attention?
Your family. Unpaid bills. Cupboards that need to be restocked. The car needs gas. Your house is falling apart. The toilet needs fixing. Your guilt. Your appointments.
Your life is falling apart. Your health. Your heart breaks. Your body aches. You’re not where you thought you’d be by now.
Job loss. Money problems. Work pressures. Your addictions. You’re getting old.
You fear you might go mad.
photo credit: llamanegra
Now Imagine it’s all gone.
Everything gone.
The white noise is gone.
Silence – save for the sound of your own beating heart and breathing.
It’s dark.
You can’t see your hand in front of your face.
Lonely.
Nothing.
You fear you might go mad.
Now imagine you’re granted the return of 5 things.
~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~
What makes your TOP 5?
talktodiana 
1. Complete health; body, mind and soul.
2. My family and close friends
3. Freedom to choose
4. Meaning and purpose to live
5. Time
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A wonderful list Elizabeth – thank you!
Diana xo
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Faith
Family
Friends
Color
Fresh air
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A wonderful list Lorri! I’ve been stretching my brain trying to come up with a word that means colour and starts with F for the sake of consistency ! I had to stray from English and go to my mother tongue, German for Farben (colours).
Diana xo
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My life is…..what I make of it. As long as I have my life, I always have opportunity. As long as I am motivated by the opportunity, there is no room for lamenting or regrets.
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sounds like a good way to live your life Dave!
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Nice! This literally got me! I do not consider my life too crazy, hurried or full of lists but I do have my fair share. Very thought provoking, I will think on this one for awhile.
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That’s great! Hope you come back and share what you come up with.
Diana xo
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Work sometimes felt like a situation requiring management of a lot of requests and inputs, but that kinda went with the territory. Perhaps in virtue of never having been a parent, I’ve never experienced that sensory overload in my personal life. Except for some assorted typhoons and volcanoes, the personal weather has been mostly okay.
But I think I can still play the game… throw away everything and bring back only five. I used to keep a list, “My Ten Most Important Things,” so this should just be the top five from that list. Used to review and update it periodically, but haven’t looked at it in years… let me dig it out (it has been a while; it was hard to find!)…
Solidly in the top slot from the list’s beginning until now: Laughter. Leaving aside things like water and oxygen, it’s one of those vital ingredients of life in my book.
Being Outdoors. I’d die if I had to live inside all the time. One reason winter is my least favorite season is the difficulties it brings to simply going outside or having open windows. Being inside with florescent lights and no windows is especially awful to me.
Teaching has always been important to me. I’ve been blessed to learn a lot in life, and I keep trying to pass some of it on. I see how knowledge has made my life better (constant employment for one thing), and I see how it makes the world better, so I believe it’s a path to our future.
Another long-time list member: sensuality, by which I mean the experiences of the senses. Touching, tasting, seeing, hearing, smelling…food, sex, wine, chocolate, cigars, massages, swimming, listening to (or better yet, making) music, laughing until you hurt and can’t see straight, the sight of the aurora, the feeling of snowflakes, the sound of a brook, the smell (and taste!) of fresh bread,… a world filled with wonder and beauty.
And for #5… tough choice, but I’ll go with reading, which ties in a lot with #1 and #3. The written word opens entire new worlds to explore. So much is found in words, as your own love of quotes shows!
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Some mighty fine things on your list Smitty! Thanks for playing the game. 🙂
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I love this so much ~ brilliant!
I would have to bring back the ability to stay in the moment, happiness, tons of love, acceptance and lots and lots of laughter. I think I could go on to make good decisions from a state of mind with all of these things!
Great post it really got me to reflect!
~Andrea<3
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A wonderful list Andrea! I especially love the ‘lots of laughter’!
Laughter and smiling have tons of healing quality. I forget that sometimes…
Diana
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Peace
Prosperity
Painlessness for all I know
Food for all those that need it
Warmth for those without homes.
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a lovely and beautiful list bulldog…
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I made a mental list and realised I am well and truely stuck in the past!! Thanks for so many great words Diana, every post thoughtful and thought provoking x
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You’re welcome – thanks for stopping by and for your kind and encouraging words!
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Hell I schedule stuff then the schedule gets flushed down the toilet and I end up having no idea where I am and wonder around the house like a lost ghost……….
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haha thanks for that entertaining visual Joanne!
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And what are your five things Diana? ~ Merry Christmas!
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I will share them in another post Top 5, part 2! Didn’t want to muddy the waters before others had a chance to think about theirs!
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I had to do this a few years ago, or I would not have survived. I can’t rank them because they’re all intertwined.
The wisdom to maintain physical/emotional/spiritual wellness;
the time to nurture my most important relationships and be real with the people I love;
the gratitude to appreciate all the beauty that surrounds me;
the liberty to make my life’s work and daily tasks purposeful;
the sanity to fully enjoy it all and to laugh often.
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Beautiful points Tracy, thank you for sharing them with me.
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This is fantastic!! Thank you!
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Thanks Bonnie!
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This is a terrific post! What a gift!
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Thanks Russ! I will share my list next week and hopefully I will keep it in mind and schedule it in as a prioroity throughout 2014!
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1. My mother’s eyesight and hearing;
2. My husband’s laugh;
3. My son’s light-heartedness;
4. My fractured family’s easy relationship restored; and
5. My energy back.
Thanks, Diana, for getting me to think rather than just feel! And happy Christmas to you. Juliexxx
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Merry Christmas to you too Julie! Love your list.
xo
Diana
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Thanks for being such a great support to me, Diana, during this ridiculous year for us. Love Julie
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This is so brilliant! I am going to think about it for awhile and post another reply.
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I’m posting a reply next week too!
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I already did one because it is all so kind of raw!
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HUGS and warm thoughts and prayers!
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