Life’s Lessons
If “Life’s Lessons” is not a book, it should be. For me, each birthday adds another year to my senior citizen collection. As I look forward to my next celebration in a few months, thoughts on life come into my mind. Here are a few of the “Life’s Lessons” I’ve received, not in any particular order.
- Open my mind to the possibilities. I might not be right, and I don’t have to be.
- Children and young adults know much more than I think they know.
- Communication is complicated and personal. It has to be customized to situations and personalities.
- Nothing is as it seems to be.
- Many times, I need to shut up and listen.
- Learning is never ending.
- My empathy and companions speak a lot about me.
- Unconditional love is a great space.
- If I want to understand, I must step out of my shoes and into yours.
- Assume nothing.
- Helping others helps me.
- Listening is an art form and constant work.
- Love trumps just about everything.
- Humans are complicated.
- We are all connected.
- Pain is a great motivator.
- Someday is today.
- I can’t change anyone.
- Dragging people along never works.
- Growing, changing and fixing my life is all about me.
- Trying to avoid problems always comes back to bite me.
- Acceptance is the key to peace of mind and serenity.
- Having passion drives my life.
- Blame never, ever works.
- No one can fix me but me.
- My happiness is my responsibility.
- Babies are the best.
- Seeing the good in everything is hard but worth it.
- Practice, practice, practice. Through practice, I can do almost anything.
- The way I think, adjust, and reframe my thinking is the key to letting go.
- Being positive it is a decision I can make.
- You can be rich and miserable.
- Gratitude helps my attitude.
- Life has many paths.
- Expect good things to happen.
- Logic is subjective, and in some cases hard to understand.
- Experience matters.
- We are all insecure at some level, and that’s okay.
- Low self-esteem hurts but is fixable for most.
- Impressing myself is much more important than impressing you.
- We all like to be recognized and loved.
- Life is difficult—dealing with it is a learning curve.
- I do not know what is good for anyone; I might just think I know.
- Slowing down works, though it seems counterproductive.
- It is so hard trying to be perfect.
- Hiding what is shameful is a mistake.
- Love is the answer.
- Life is one breath at a time, staying in the moment is difficult but rewarding.
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff is a great book to live by.
- Meditation helps me with perspective.
- Life is not the way I want it to be— it is just the way it unfolds.
- Accepting it is the key to life.
- Life is beautiful, so let’s do it again.
- Naturally, there are so many more lessons, and I’m still learning.
- In peace, love and laughter,
November 2018