Sometime ago I read somewhere that studies showed Dementia and Alzheimer’s were linked to regrets and living an unfulfilled life. When I look back at the folks in my life who have suffered I can see this to be true.

Last night I was at one of the elderly facilities attending a Christmas party and being with my sweet clients. I shared a table with a kind Alzheimer’s patient and her sister. The sister and I spoke a lot about the disease. She told me that her sister was diagnosed at the age of 55 and progressively got worst in a short time.

I asked her if her sister had a rough life…if her personal story was painful. Her eyes grew wide and she said, “Yes! She had a truly abusive husband and a very difficult life.”

I shared with her what I have witnessed in the years overseeing elderly folks with Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. I told her about the study I had read years ago and how I can see the relationship between having unfulfilled lives and regrets. The mind starts to shut down. During all of this my client was in and out of her anxiety with so many people and I kept bringing her back to the moment with touch and lots of love.

I opt to live this life to the fullest. Because…it never fails….Whenever I enter a facility to visit an elderly person I recognize regrets staring back. I hear stories through their loss of reality and watch the expressions of souls who are just waiting for death. In their dying bed I have seen the anger and frustration of past experiences and all the should’ve, could’ve, and would’ve done statements. It puts life in a different frame of mind. Regrets, resentments, bitterness, loss, and unfulfilled dreams are on top of the lists of those histories. Stories get told and relived with sorrow and sadness. They return to those parts of their lives over and over like some distressed time machine.  It’s horrific to witness. I have seen it in my own family members and recognize that the unfulfilled life, never following their dreams, and regrets have stolen their minds.

I make sure I release any resentments, anger, regrets and unforgiving crap. I don’t carry that on my spiritual body. I know Alzheimer’s and Dementia can derive from other issues such as vascular disease, viral infections and other matters. But, if I can release and surrender the past to help establish a health mind…by God, I will do that.

If I am to live a healthy life with full capacity of my mind, I will do anything to make sure I live to the fullest. Circumstances aren’t always available. Challenges rise and fall. Love comes and goes. Hurt breaks the heart and then repairs. I haven’t much on any list of things I care to do that I haven’t done. I choose to love fully. Live openly. Laugh every day. And treat strangers as old friends. No regrets. No resentments. I choose to be present to the best of my ability. It’s a matter of being mindful. I expect to go into old age with my full wits of sarcasm and memories.

I have seen too many loved ones with Dementia and Alzheimer’s to know I will do what it takes to enjoy this life. It might not always be comfortable but that’s also a matter of perception. I get to decide what I hold on to and what I let go. Letting go is on my priority list. Forgiveness and love are the healing qualities that bring me back to a harmonious body.

Now you. You get to decide what you hold on to and hurt you, or what you release and see as beautiful life lessons. You get to use your superpower of love and forgiveness. You get to adjust your perception of what is and what isn’t.

Enjoy your life, darlings. This is a gift every single day. It doesn’t have to be so hard. It just has to be lived.

Mucho love ~ Millie