If I’ve learned one thing from writing this blog for almost a year now, is that there is a lot of life wisdom and guidance to be found in the world.
I hope I have imparted some of the wisdom I’ve picked up along the way. I hope I have internalized some of it.
Today’s social conceit of our entitled right and access to “almost everything” – if we but follow the program on offer or buy into this person’s philosophy – is essentially a crock. Ultimately, we have to figure out what works for us, the direction of mentors and charlatans notwithstanding.
Most simply put, there are immutable truths about life. We can ignore them but they won’t ignore us. Change your gender. Lie about your birth date. Concoct a fabulous and false story about your origins and lineage. See how far that gets you.
Because, in the end, it all comes down to getting right with ourselves. That’s a lifetime commitment for most folk right there.
We see and read so much about “ensuring the rights of” – name it. The gender confused. The victims of domestic violence. Blacks. Asians. The mentally ill. The homeless. Republicans.
The description of fighting for those rights always provides lively copy. Speaks to the great interest and inherent sense of light-seeking that I believe all humans wish for: justice, fairness, equity, truth.
What isn’t so common is the follow up. We rarely hear what oppressed person or group learn from their “liberation.” Who do they credit for their eventual success? When do they settle into a sense of peace with that they have achieved?
In the end, I believe any joint victory is felt as a personal victory. We are part of many groups and all carry our own inherent prejudices and biases. When a group we feel part of is victorious, we feel victorious.
That’s the reason I believe it is absolutely essential to get right with yourself and whatever you conceive god to be. No matter how solid and comforting and supporting all those groups have been in your life, at the end, we are all completely on our own.
It is not selfishness to focus on and sort out what really matters to us in this life. It is wisdom. Only from that vantage point can you share yourself with others in any meaningful way.
Pity the parrots who never completely come to understand who they are and why they believe what they believe. Those who never learn to think for themselves.
So, once again, I found wise words that spoke to me. I acknowledge wise words for their consistency and relevance over time.
There is no shortage of them. Our task – the biggest – is to sort through them and apply the wisest lessons to our own lives. In my case, it is an ongoing work in progress.
As is much great wisdom, the list of life lessons below is simple. Not easy to follow. But simple.
And as much life wisdom does, this list comes from our First Nations. They had centuries to figure out solid life lessons before “progress” irreversibly altered their way of life and brought us into the great age of “modernity.”
15 REMINDERS FROM THE ELDERS:
1. Get up with the sun to pray. Pray alone.
2. Be tolerant of those who have lost their way. Ignorance, presumption, anger, jealousy and greed come from a lost soul. Pray for them to find guidance.
3. Find yourself, by your own means. Do not let others make your path for you. It is your path, and only yours. Others may walk with you, but no one can make your way (or walk your path) for you.
4. Treat guests in your home with great consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.
5. Do not take what is not yours, whether from a person, a community, from the jungle or from a culture. It was not given or won. It is not yours.
6. Respect all the things that are on this earth, be they people, plants and animals.
7. Honor the thoughts, desires and words of all people. Never break them in, or make fun of them, or imitate them rudely. It gives each person the right to their personal expression.
8. Never talk about others in a bad way. The negative energy you put into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.
9. All people make mistakes. And all the mistakes can be forgiven.
10. Bad thoughts cause illness to the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.
11. Nature is not FOR us. It is PART of us. She’s part of your family in the world.
12. Children are the seeds of our future. Sow love in your hearts and water them with wisdom and life lessons. When they grow up, just give them space to grow up.
13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of their suffering will return to you.
14. Be true (transparent ) all the time. Honesty is the test of one’s will in this universe.
15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental person, your Spiritual person, your Emotional person, and your Physical person: they all have the need to be strong, pure and healthy.
Expressive Compulsive 