Life lessons

It's less than a month before my birthday and I enter into a time of reflection. I am probably at the mid-way mark (or hopefully less) in life and it's as a good a time as any to take stock of life and think a little more about what I want to do with the second half of my life.

I especially like Regina Brett's 50 life's lessons* and thought of coming up with a list of lessons culled from the books I've read, movies I've watched, people whose paths have crossed mine and my own life experiences.

So here it is, in no particular order (if I have plagiarized without acknowledging the original source, I beg pardon - please let me know and I will rectify my oversight):

1. Watch what you eat, exercise and (most importantly) sstrrrreeeettchhhh every day - when it comes to good health, prevention is less costly and painful than the cure.

2. Work constantly on boundaries that keep the bad out and let the good in (thanks to Cloud and Townsend).

3. We will always be work in progress so do enjoy and draw pleasure from the journey even as you aspire to reach the destination.

4. Depression is a waste of time and energy - if you don't like where you are, walk away. If you don't like who you are, change. All things are possible with God (to paraphrase the angel Gabriel).

5. Even when you are walking through the valley of tears and misery, you can make it a place of springs (Psalm 84).

6. While it's good to have plans and goals, don't get too bummed out when things don't go your way. Detours can be enriching, plus, His way is best.

7. When you are lost, ask for directions from a higher order. Don't rely on your own efforts and resources when the Holy Spirit can bring clarity.

8. If you know WHO you really are, you will know HOW to make true choices in life and know WHERE you are going. (Thanks to Margaret Silf's Landmarks.)

9. You may not like what lies ahead, but with Jesus as constant companion, you will have fortitude to walk the narrow path - His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

10. Healing can only begin when we are willing to face our brokenness and issues  in God's light of love and truth.

11. Look for opportunities to love each day and you will receive love in return.

12. Be still and listen. God speaks in whispers for He wants us to exercise our freedom of will.

13. Don't let guilt keep you standing outside the Father's house. It's harsh out there. Knock and the door will open, with a warm and loving reception (Luke 11:9-10).

14. Pray unceasingly, through every season of life. Every day. Even when you don't feel like it.

15. Ad majorem dei gloriam - let everything you do be for the greater glory of God and you will never go wrong.

16. "We are all capable of great things if we refuse to be defeated by the fear of our own weakness." - Karol. The Pope. The Man.

17. The truth is I am precious, a delight, priceless, beloved, fearfully and wonderfully made because I am made in His image and likeness. So why don't I revel in this truth all the time? I should.

18. If I don't love and respect my own dignity as woman, I cannot love and respect others nor can I receive the love and respect that I should from others. (Read JPII's Mulieris Dignitatem for inspiration.)

19. While talking it out is good for the soul, nothing beats acting on our convictions and living life with no regrets. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

20. If we remain rooted in God (Psalm 1) then we can soar like eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

21. Just do it - even if you fall flat on your face, it sure beats sitting on the sidelines, not participating in life. Besides, the Spirit of God is not one of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). 

22. Passion and purity are both necessary and inextricably linked expressions of our sexuality.

23. It's important to ask why and seek for the truth with St.Anselm's faith seeking understanding in order to experience God in a very personal way and to be able to interiorize the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

24. Cultivate a heart of gratitude and you will never run out of blessings.

25. Suffering can transform us and allow us to express who we really are - a being called to transcendence and redemption. (Read JPII's Salvifici Doloris for insights on the meaning of suffering.)

26. Love and honour your parents on a daily basis for they gave you the very precious gift of life.

27. We can only fill the God-shaped space in our hearts by seeking within (meditate on St. Augustine's Late Have I Loved Thee). Emptiness cannot be filled with "things of the world".

28. If you look for what is Good, True and Beautiful, you will find God.

29. You cannot save the world, so don't even try. Just do what you are called to do - to be a "perfect" witness (Matthew 19:21) - and leave the rest up to God.

30. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

31. Be "the little pencil in God's hand", just as Mother Teresa was, and you can do "small things with great love". - Mother Teresa

32. Always treat your loved ones like gold and never take them for granted. If they take you for granted, let them know gently, even as you forgive them.

33. Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)

34. God is all-forgiving and ever-merciful so we should be like Him, especially when it comes to ourselves and our families.

35. Celebrate your feminine genius (JPII), even as you respect your brother's masculine genius.

36. Find the gumption  to walk on water - you won't regret it. It's the most empowering thing you can do for yourself.

37. What you comprehend in your head, you must understand in your heart, if not, it is a truth you haven't yet fully grasped.

38. If you can identify the distortions in your life and come up with counter-logics to deal with them using prayer, stretching and modelling, you will be able to live more fully alive. (John Powell's Fully Alive Experience.)

39. Nurture, play and have fun with your inner child and fulfil her/his needs so that she/he can grow into the woman/man she/he was meant to be.

40. Forgiveness is key to joy and inner peace. Without forgiveness, we cannot grow or move ahead into freedom.

41. In lamenting life's sorrows, we accord proper respect to circumstance and will eventually, with grace, feel God's loving presence in darkest despair. (Thanks to Fr. Martin Cilia's talk on dying and grief.)

42. In times of crisis or desolation, never alter a decision arrived at in times of consolation (from St. Ignatius of Loyola's Discernment Rules).

43. Agere contra - The Ignatian way to act against desolation or the personal inclination to sin and evil.

44. Live in the Spirit and you will bear His fruit (Galatians 5:22) and receive His gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-13).

45. "... it is cleat that sexuality cannot be separated from love... Man and woman must take responsibility for their relationships and to defend the purity of love and sexuality."  - Karol. The Pope. The Man. (JP II's Theology of the Body proposes exactly how we can achieve this.)

46 "Right is right even if no one is doing it, wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it." - Most recently quoted on the Montana episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.





* To read Regina Brett's, go to: http://www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2006/05/regina_bretts_45_life_lessons.html)