Do you ever have days when you download your email and find your inbox full of newsletters, spam, chain letters, jokes, and warm fuzzies?

You can unsubscribe from newsletters and use SpamArrest to eliminate spam, but how do you handle well-intentioned friends who feel compelled to share every single email that puts a smile on their face? For an answer to this question, check out Thanks. No. which offers an interesting, if somewhat passive-aggressive, approach to dealing with people who are addicted to forwarding.

Thanks. No. isn’t really my style, nor will I just delete this type of email automatically. I always like to take at least a quick glance, because you just never know when you’ll come across something that is worth reading and even sharing. For example, take the following passage, which I received not too long ago – I think it will speak to you, no matter what season of life you’re in.

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.

I know that I lived them all… And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams… But, here it is… the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise… How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my babies go? And where did my youth go?

I remember well… Seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like…  But, here it is…

My friends are retired and really getting gray… they move slower and I see an older person now. Lots are in better shape than me… But, I see the great change… Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant… But, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we’d be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day. And taking a nap is not a treat anymore… it’s mandatory! Cause if I don’t on my own free will, I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did.

But, at least I know that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last… this I know, that when it’s over… it’s over… Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn’t done… things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I’m happy to have done.  It’s all in a lifetime…

So, if you’re not in your winter yet… let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life, please do it quickly! Don’t put things off too long.

Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not.

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life… so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember… and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past.

Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

Live it well — Enjoy today — Do something fun — Be happy — Be thankful.