Many of you know that I have been writing a book about my mother’s life. I am coming to the last chapters and it hit me how much I learned from her without her even realizing it. She was a very strong individual without knowing it herself. She was a survivor throughout her life but more than that - she lived life. Here are a few of the lessons she taught me.
Do your best and keep going. We find many obstacles in our way as we move along day to day in life. Sometimes they can overwhelm us and make us stall. Don Miquel Ruiz tells us that our best is not always the same but to always work towards it. Some days your best will be more than others depending on your health, mood, or other situation. If you strive to do your best you develop a habit and your best continues to improve over time. My mother always looked back at the decisions she made with the thought that she did her best with what she had to work with and I don’t believe she had many regrets.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. I believe that we stop short of living life to our fullest by fear of the unknown. Of course fear can help us with boundaries but so often we let it holds us from reaching our full potential. Fear, doubt, worry will overcome us and we hold back from pursuing our dreams and life fulfilling moments. Fear can hold you from living a bolder life. My mother was fearful of many things. One was water as she never learned to swim. That certainly didn’t stop her from getting on the water to experience new and different adventures. One of her proudest moments was getting on a Catamaran in Hawaii with a group of people and her young grandchildren. She was terrified to be on the back of the open vessel as it moved out into the swells of the ocean and the waves were splashing up over the sides onto her. Her thoughts at the moment were that if anything happen she would not be able to help her two grandsons since she could not swim. Afterwards she looked back at the experience as a lifetime adventure that she would have not missed.
Make friends and keep them close. Friends bring richness to your life and a true friend can bring you a lifetime of value. Cultivate true friends and learn the value of what you can do for them. Friends can help you when you are in need but more than that they are the sounding board for thoughts and balance. My mother had a multitude of friends. At her eightieth birthday party she had over two hundred family and friends come to help her celebrate. She developed friendships and kept them over her life.
Keep learning. Life learning is more than school or picking up a new hobby. It is really more about keeping an open mind to new experiences. It’s about exploring possibilities as well as looking beyond your comfortable space. My mother was a lifelong learner. She loved to read. Her reading took her to different places and opened her mind to different ideas and thoughts about life. She experienced so much change in her ninety-one years and other than refusing to use a computer she was open to learning and trying new things as the world changed.
We need to keep an open mind and look at the learning lessons we can take with us daily to build a better and more successful life. Look out beyond your small circle of daily habits and reach for more experiences, friends and celebrate life. There is no test at the end of the day other than knowing you did your best to live your life to the fullest.
"It's not about what you tell your children, but how you show them how to live life." Jada Pinkett Smith
"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. "Pope Paul VI
Do your best and keep going. We find many obstacles in our way as we move along day to day in life. Sometimes they can overwhelm us and make us stall. Don Miquel Ruiz tells us that our best is not always the same but to always work towards it. Some days your best will be more than others depending on your health, mood, or other situation. If you strive to do your best you develop a habit and your best continues to improve over time. My mother always looked back at the decisions she made with the thought that she did her best with what she had to work with and I don’t believe she had many regrets.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. I believe that we stop short of living life to our fullest by fear of the unknown. Of course fear can help us with boundaries but so often we let it holds us from reaching our full potential. Fear, doubt, worry will overcome us and we hold back from pursuing our dreams and life fulfilling moments. Fear can hold you from living a bolder life. My mother was fearful of many things. One was water as she never learned to swim. That certainly didn’t stop her from getting on the water to experience new and different adventures. One of her proudest moments was getting on a Catamaran in Hawaii with a group of people and her young grandchildren. She was terrified to be on the back of the open vessel as it moved out into the swells of the ocean and the waves were splashing up over the sides onto her. Her thoughts at the moment were that if anything happen she would not be able to help her two grandsons since she could not swim. Afterwards she looked back at the experience as a lifetime adventure that she would have not missed.
Make friends and keep them close. Friends bring richness to your life and a true friend can bring you a lifetime of value. Cultivate true friends and learn the value of what you can do for them. Friends can help you when you are in need but more than that they are the sounding board for thoughts and balance. My mother had a multitude of friends. At her eightieth birthday party she had over two hundred family and friends come to help her celebrate. She developed friendships and kept them over her life.
Keep learning. Life learning is more than school or picking up a new hobby. It is really more about keeping an open mind to new experiences. It’s about exploring possibilities as well as looking beyond your comfortable space. My mother was a lifelong learner. She loved to read. Her reading took her to different places and opened her mind to different ideas and thoughts about life. She experienced so much change in her ninety-one years and other than refusing to use a computer she was open to learning and trying new things as the world changed.
We need to keep an open mind and look at the learning lessons we can take with us daily to build a better and more successful life. Look out beyond your small circle of daily habits and reach for more experiences, friends and celebrate life. There is no test at the end of the day other than knowing you did your best to live your life to the fullest.
"It's not about what you tell your children, but how you show them how to live life." Jada Pinkett Smith
"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. "Pope Paul VI
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