is it cheating

to use a ladder when you climb up into the orange tree?

As I reached across, balancing inside the tree this morning, I felt really good that at 55 I can still climb trees. But then I remembered that the man who taught me to prune my olive trees a few weeks ago was far more agile, had better balance, climbed much higher while pruning, and he is 73. No room for feeling smug.

Then, up in that tree, I thought: is it important what I do in life, or is it more important, what I think?

How much we are defined by our thoughts. Should I fall out of my tree, miss the edge and go down a terrace or two, I doubt I would get up and walk away so easily. I might not climb trees again. But I would still have my thoughts, and they determine my attitude, my approach to the day.

I want to be like the woman who said of the rest home room she hadn't seen, "I like it already". Every morning, we choose how we will approach the day.

I have a friend who seeks adventure, seems to have an exciting, adrenalin-filled life. Big adventures, things I can only dream of. Sometimes, reading those emails, I am envious, feel very uninteresting, and if I allow myself to become diminished I write less about myself in reply.

But mostly I am grateful that I can take so much pleasure from watching the sunrise, seeing a leaf flutter gently to the ground, hearing the church bells echoing across the valley, having my 9 year old friend take my hand and assure me that, thanks to his "bastone" (stick) and Zacchi running ahead, there are no snakes where we are going.

Another friend in an email this morning discussed luxury and possessions, then said "WOW! Kick my ass if I start thinking like that :)" Don't worry, I will!

From where I sit, in my orange tree, I am very sure I would rather be defined by my thoughts than my possessions, by the friends I hold dear rather than the achievements I can list.

Each to his own, I say. But in the meantime, I have to get over my ethical dilemma. When I used the ladder to get up into my orange tree this morning, was I being sensible, or was it cheating?