I often reflect on my own experience and everything I understand about the world and the people in it.
I try to draw some lessons that I hope will help me better navigate my way through life, and many of the lessons I’ve learned have come through trial and error.
Applying what I know and only later come to understand.
How is life best lived?
Based on that question, I’ve been able to draw some lessons for life, lessons that I’d want to pass onto my own children.
1. Live up to your responsibilities
Never shirk your responsibilities.
Responsibility is something that you must assume voluntarily and once you’ve assumed it, life is no longer just about you, it transcends you – this will give your life the purpose and meaning you seek.
2. Always keep your word
Your word is your bond.
If you can’t keep your word, you lose all integrity and credibility along with it. You can not be relied upon, by yourself and by others. If you can’t keep your word, then you should die trying or you work to make a full amends, no excuses, and no cutting corners.
3. Humility is the highest order virtue after Love.
Humility dissolves pride and the ego.
In contrast, pride is what ultimately separates us from ourselves, separates us from others and dare I say even separates us from God.
Humility is the letting go that will set you free. It’s being open and not closed, listening not telling.
It’s about approaching life with a certain tenderness and gentleness, with obedience. It’s about never complaining, not making excuses and in always willing the good
It’s not weakness, but rather requires enormous strength, it’s not passive, it’s active and it’s trusting. Humility is ultimately grounded in gratitude and in Love and that’s a good place to live from.
4. Never be afraid to speak the truth
As Edmund Burke famously suggested, “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”. I believe that – if there’s something that needs to be said, then say it.
Only when you speak the truth, do you begin to deal with the reality of any given situation. If there’s something that needs to be said, then don’t be afraid to say it (out loud), it’s your responsibility.
5. Treat people kindly
Be kind, because everyone you meet is facing his or her own demons.
Don’t judge and don’t make assumptions about people, you’ll never have the complete picture, so live and let live.
6. Time is your most valuable resource
Life is made up of time, if you waste time; you’re wasting your life.
That doesn’t mean you need to be doing something all the time, but it does mean you should always be present – to be active, not passive.. Even in rest, you are not escaping life, but rather going deeper into it.
Be more intentional about everything and make better use of your time. Understanding that every moment counts, goes a long way towards living a full life.
7. Health means to live a full human life
Health, wellness, wellbeing can be fad words thrown around as marketing gimmicks.
But what does it mean to be well?
Being healthy is to live a full human life. To live up to your humanity, to those little things that allow you to transcend the material world. It’s accepting that nothing lasts forever. That’s not always easy, it comes with some pain and suffering – it’s part of the human experience, so embrace it.
To be whole, is to be holy. And you must be willing to embrace the suffering, to get to that holy place.
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