Worry

You needn't worry. There is time. You have all the time in the world. You preceded time and you will exist beyond it. Age is irrelevant; more meaningless than a number. Forever, you have FOREVER. 

There is no dream you now have that you will not manifest. There is no challenge you now face that you will not crush and dispose of. There is no point in spending one more second of your awesome, amazing life, thinking anything to the contrary. 

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Usually, the best way to find the yellow brick road of your life is to start out on the dusty, dirt one. Follow the yellow brick road is an attempt to follow a course of action that you believe will lead to good things. We all want to believe that we are all on our own yellow brick road. 

In the movie, the "Wizard of Oz" Dorothy is told by the Munchkins that in order for her to get her wish, she has to get help. Dorothy then sets off with her goal in mind. The lyrics of the song gives the audience what she has in mind. She is off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of oz, you'll find he is the wizard of wiz if ever a wiz there was,

If ever or ever a wizard that was
the wizard of oz is one because, because, because, because, because, because, because of the wonderful things he does,
you're off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of Oz
 

Unlike Dorothy, we do not have a wizard waiting for us that will grant our wishes. It would nice but it would take away from the magic we create ourselves. As we start out on our own path, we become preoccupied in making the best of it, having fun, and challenging ourself that we actually stop paying attention to the path. This is unlike Dorothy who has to keep her eye on the path to make it to the Emerald City so she can meet the wizard.

As we travel our path one day with a new best friend, wearing cool clothes, feeling awesome, a teeny tiny bit taller, fresh from a WOW vacation, looking for the path you just left, you'll notice that it's 24 carats.

And you'll wonder for a long, long time, sipping on some exotic fruit drink, when the transformation actually took place

Anxiety and relief

Anxiety or fear can be called up when you are asked to a gathering by a total stranger honouring the life of someone you've never met while you had other plans

Sometimes it is worth trying to overcome our fear and anxiety. So, accept the invitation, however irrational it may seem.

Imagination is a wonderful tool and it can help in times of anxiety. Imagine your surprise that when you present your invitation to the gatekeeper at the gate you'd notice that the invitation is written in your own hand.

Imagine that you are greeted warmly by the most wonderful, familiar faces. In your imagination, everyone is so excited. In fact, you become excited about the gathering because it turns out, you're about to meet the person you've always dreamed you'd one day become. Imagination isn't it amazing! 

Imagination can help you overcome your fear, your anxiety and help you create a new vision. In your imagination, you can allow yourself to be the hero you wanted to be when you were 10 years old.

One of the movies I love is “The Wizard of Oz”. In this movie and in the book, Dorothy is put into a very scary place with witches, wizards, talking scarecrows, talking animals, tin men and with some help and her imagination she overcomes a number of fearful obstacles to achieve her mission and to get back to a place she feels safe. 

Dorothy is the hero of this story, but she does not want to be the hero, all she wants to do is get home. Follow through is important to overcome fear and anxiety. Accept the invitation, and imagine the person you are meant to be and greet your future self with pride.

Spam Calls some ideas on how to end them

I hate spam phone calls and I bet you do as well. I read the following from an AARP email I received and I thought it was interesting and gave some good advice. To read the entire article follow the link 5 Ways to Stop Spam Calls  by Sid Kirchheimer, AARP Bulletin, October 2018 

YouMail reports, more than 12 billion robocalls were made to American homes. That’s about 4 million every hour, and a steady increase from last year. This is because they work. It costs scammers and spammers only a few dollars per day to simultaneously blast tens of millions of calls with autodialers.

So how do you defend yourself if you are targeted?

You can try not picking up. But the calls that reach your voicemail greeting could flag that yours is a working number — and ripe for future calls.

Here’s a list of do-it-yourself defences that have dropped the automated and live spam calls received by more than 90 percent.

Answer with silence. When you say hello or anything else, automated voice-activated calls launch the robocall recording or transfer you to a call center, where a live operator angles for personal and financial information. But saying nothing usually disconnects these calls within seconds, with no robo-message or callbacks from that fake number.

If it is an unsolicited “live” caller, wait for that person to speak to break the silence. If you don’t recognize the voice, hang up.

Try a “not in service” recording. Using a portable tape recorder and a microphone attached to a handset, I copied a “this number is not in service” message during a callback to a scammer’s spoofed number. Since it’s cued, I sometimes play that recording — again, saying nothing — when answering calls before they go into voicemail in hopes my number will be removed from spammer calling lists. So far, I have not gotten a single callback from those incoming numbers.

Trap ’em with an app. Smartphone users have plenty of options that flag and block some fraudulent calls and text messages. Some services are free; others cost a few bucks per month.

Customers of AT&T can use Call Protect, Verizon Wireless provides Caller Name ID, Sprint offers Premium Caller ID, and T-Mobile has Scam ID and Scam Block. You can also buy apps like YouMail and RoboKiller that will filter calls for a few bucks a month — or for free in the case of Youmail.

Another freebie for virtually every landline user: Press *77 to block “anonymous” and “private” numbers, then deactivate it anytime with *87.

To block individual numbers that get through on an iPhone, open the phone app, tap the circled “i” icon to the right of the spam number that called, scroll down and tap Block This Caller. For Android smartphones, open the phone app and tap the calling number, select Details, then Block Number.

Know which calls to avoid. The most common calling cons are pitches that promise to reduce debt and credit card rates or to get you preapproved loans; offer free or low-cost vacations, time-shares, home security systems and medical supplies; or come from government and utility company impostors.

A dropped or “one-ring” call is a common ruse to prompt a callback. Beware of area codes 268, 284, 809 and 876, which originate from Caribbean countries with high per-minute phone charges.

Robocalls tend to be highest on Friday and Tuesday, and the most frequently targeted numbers are in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Birmingham, Ala., and Miami.