I’m so thankful to have people in my life who I can learn from. Here are some things I’ve learnt about life in my 48 years:
– Wisdom is not knowledge. I think I know a fair bit about life, but I have a heck of a long way to go before I am wise. Knowledge puffs up; love builds up.
– Surrender your ego. Accept the paradox that we get happiness by not looking for it. We live by dying to ourselves. Trying to fill your life with externals will never give you what you are looking for. Never.
– I am not God. That sounds like the bleeding obvious but I need reminding of it a heck of a lot.
– Life is not about me.
– Let go of your resentments quickly. You will feel a lot more relaxed. Pray for people you resent.
– Surrender your right to have life go your way. Learn to live life on life’s terms. Write out the Serenity Prayer and put it up somewhere so you can be reminded of it regularly.
– Be humble; don’t be arrogant or proud. You’ll be much more at peace. Humility is the acceptance of reality.
– Always look to see how you can love others. Be outward looking. Pray for an attitude of service. A prayer like that will always be answered in the affirmative.
– Love others. Just do it. It will make you happy. Even more than that, it will give you joy, which is deeper than happiness.
– Go to AA meetings every now and then. Let their humility break you. It’s the broken ones in recovery who have the most to teach us about life.
– Wisdom about life is always gained through suffering. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it when it comes, because it will come.
– Ask God to break your heart. It’s a scary-as-hell prayer, but when your heart is broken, you will become more loving.
– Take calculated risks. Do what you don’t want to do. Don’t just follow your feelings. Do what is right.
– Meditate for 20 minutes every day. In our 24/7 connected culture, we need meditative people more than ever.
– Read Proverbs 4 and ask God to help you become like that.
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