Janet, If any person - regardless of beauty, talent or age - is struck by illness, it is tragic. Actors use the term 'Magic if' for questions used to put yoursefl into someone else's shoes or experiences. You ask yourself: what if I were...then how would I feel, react, etc. It is asked in the past, present and future. To ask 'what if' as a means of finding a strategy is essential. What if I went for a walk ever day. What if my true calling is something that I have not yet found? What if I actively pursue ways to balance the sorrows with joys? To simply ask 'what if' without a goal seems detrimental because the possibilities are without end. What if I hadn't become sick? What if I hadn't dumped that boy in high school? What if I was a foot taller? What if I had become that job? The Magic If helps you make discoveries. The other 'what if' might keep you from appreciating 'what is'. Life's short for everyone. Seize the day. Live with passion. "what's past is prologue, what to come In yours and my discharge" Tempest Act2 sci bta ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn