Life Lessons

You are born into this world an innocent.   Cold Shivering Alone Then the reality of it all begins, life begins; there are so many things to be learned about your new surroundings and thereby begin the lessons of life...some of which are: Life Lesson 1 Pain exists. Life can hurt. Like a lot. Even when you're good, you can get whacked. Without apology. Without explanation. Life Lesson 2 You must have great non-expectations. Its self-defeating living in a tense future tense, second guessing, 267th-guessing life.  You accept that you live in a world of uncertainty.  This uncertainty ingredient is what makes for that hot and inimitable entree called "The future" --- otherwise it would be frozen in time. Life Lesson 3 You must not live in denial that disappointment and failure and pain and conflict and darkness and evil exist --- they are out there. Every silver lining always has its cloud.  This is a world of duality: of good and bad, yin and yang, decaffeinated and caffeinated.  So you must always be prepared! Life Lesson 4 Judge a tree by its fruits.  And ditto for people. You can always tell who someone is by the circumstances they grow.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree --- and neither does the bad banana. By now you know...to avoid bad banana people. And you especially know its fruitless to ask bad banana people for advice.  For instance, don't ask career-less people for career advice...or relationship-less for relationship advice. Life Lesson 5 You must celebrate Non-Judgement Day, then Non-Judgment Year, then Non-Judgment Life. You find that when you look at life and people through the eyes of non-judgment, you attain a special x-ray vision that allows you to see past the bad --- and straight to the good. Life Lesson 6 If you keep doing what you've always been doing, then you'll keep getting what you've always been getting. You must courageously break the habit of your habits, or every year you will be doomed to live out: "Same #$%&!.  Different outfit."  The style of your clothes may change, but the style of your circumstances won't. Life Lesson 7 The secret to happiness --- in 3 words: rationalize rationalize rationalize You find it's helpful to lie to yourself about your past pain...and all of the rotten things that have happened to you.  And it's only fair --- since everyone else is lying to you anyway.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  Well, ahem, maybe this is the cynic's guide to spiritual happiness, hmmm...think about it. Life Lesson 8 When you let go of unnecessary attachments, you pick up speed in heading towards your true goals. For this reason, its always better to have a short bad relationship than a long bad relationship.  Or a short unsatisfying career versus a long unsatisfying career. Life Lesson 9 You must create your own good luck.  You must be pro-active and even pre-active.  You must know when it's time to stop sitting around all relaxed, waiting for things to just happen to you --- and instead stand up and take life by the shirt collar.  You alone decide on your own level of love and money and the happiness that you attract to yourself. Life Lesson 10 Just like there's sexual attraction , there's love attraction.  When you feel love energy inside you, other people feel it coming off of you --- and find themselves wildly --- and oddly --- attracted to you. You've witnessed this yourself --- how whenever you're in love you seem to attract more love to you --- as well as other positive stuff.  Yes, love is a boomerang, baby.  What you have and give away is what you get back.   Love energy attracts love energy.  Its all about "harmonic resonance" working its energies on those around you.  And so with a fierce heart you work at attaining and maintaining this unconditional self-love for yourself and life within your fierce heart --- and when you do, you see how life just loves you right back --- and big time!