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Conscientiously make your life a wonderful, beautiful piece of art. Slow down! Live. Be aware of your surroundings.

Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our daily lives that we don’t take the time to see, hear and smell the every day beauty that surrounds us – something as simple as a blade of green grass, the crisp popping sound of a flag blowing in the wind, the smell of gas fumes from a passing bus. Okay, so bus fumes are bad, but that’s not the point.

The point is – you’re ALIVE to smell those bus fumes! You’re experiencing, the ‘right here’, the ‘right now’. We aren’t promised the tomorrow and ‘right here, right now’ is all we have. Seize it!

Change the way you see your job – work to live, don’t live to work. No one on their death bed ever said they wished they’d spent more time at work. As a matter of fact, according to palliative care worker Bronnie Ware, the number one thing people wish is that they’d had the courage to live life the way they’d wanted, not they way others expected of them (“Regrets of the Dying”).

Last but certainly not least – don’t wait for those proverbial ‘special occasions’ that everyone talks about. Make EVERY day a special occasion because it is!

That pretty dress you’ve been saving for someplace special? Wear it to go shopping, to the library, to the park. Or better yet, just wear it around the house for yourself!

Use the good china every day – along with the silver, the linen napkins and the crystal glasses.

Don’t wait til ‘someday’ to take that pottery class, visit that museum, or write that book…. do it/start it today!

So you didn’t get to be a movie star? Almost every community has a theater group – get involved!

Make a list of the things you feel you’re missing out on or the things you’ve always wanted to do.

Can’t afford that fancy house you’ve always wanted? So what! To the best of your ability decorate the house you have now, the way you’d like to decorate your dream house. Speaking from experience I can tell you I did that and found that the house I was living in became my dream house and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Try to have as few regrets as possible!

When you decide to make your life a wonderful piece of art the possiblities are endless! Now go! Don’t you dare waste another minute.

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Kathie Truitt grew up in the tiny Ozarks town of El Dorado Springs, Missouri. She started her writing career as soon as she could form sentences, spending hours journaling stories in the Big Chief tablet provided her grandmother. By 6th grade she was writing and producing plays for her class.

After graduation she attended Missouri State University - for about 2 minutes - before running off and marrying her high school sweetheart.

She spent over 20 years as a radio personality and when her show first became an Arbitron-rated number 1 show she publicy thanked her teachers that said she'd 'never amount to hill o' beans because she couldn't shut up in class.' In 1996 she received the honor of being crowned Mrs. Missouri - in which afterward she promptly went up to her hotel room and changed a dirty diaper.

One spring day in 2001, Kathie's husband Jay announced he'd accepted a position on the East Coast and a few weeks later, he dragged her kicking and screaming to that den of iniquity some call Washington, D.C.

Those first few years were more than rough when the Truitt's moved to their neighborhood. After being the victim of a crazy neighbor lady that stalked them for 5 years, they were forced to move to another county for their safety. This was the basis for Kathie's first novel, "False Victim" in which she not only sold the movie rights, but it was also a featured segment on Investigation Discovery.

Kathie's second book "The Hillbilly Debutante Cafe" is a much lighter, more fun novel that has been compared to 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. It's set for release on March 27th.

Kathie maintains a blog, aptly called 'Hillbilly Debutante: Musings of a Country Girl Stuck in the City'. 

For more information, please visit hillbillydebutante.blogspot.com

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Hi there, Thank you for this lovely piece! The part where you speak of what most people regret on their death bed. In brackets you have “Regrets of the Dying” is that another post, book or blog? I would love to read it if it’s available. Thank you! Patricia

  2. Thank you for exhorting us to be more aware of everything around us. Living a beautiful life — as well as a productive and happy one — is showing appreciation to the Creator who gave us everything! Cheers!

  3. Patricia – ‘Regrets of the Dying’ is a book written by palliative care worker Bronnie Ware.

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