Monday, December 16, 2013

Making a List, Checking it Twice


It's definitely the season for lists -- presents to buy, cards to send, movies to watch, parties to attend, menus to organize, groceries to pick - up, chores to complete. In the course of my general, random reading over the weekend, I came across several lists that went way beyond the usual "ten ways to prepare for the holidays" or "ten tips for winterizing your beauty routine."

These insightful, memorable lists are more about winterizing (or summer - izing) your heart and soul. Allow me to summarize:

My friend Meta suggested:

Eight things cultured people do differently, according to Chekhov

and

Six Life Lessons from Tolstoy

Liz posted

a Three - point formula for happiness

and

Five tips for emotional wellness

thanks to Ann Dibble for this helpful list of

why not to criticize

and to Patricia Henley for

"Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid"

Lots of excellent advice here for the upcoming New Year!

3 comments:

  1. INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE FROM THE DALAI LAMA --
    or more likely from
    LIFE'S LITTLE INSTRUCTION BOOK BY JACKSON BROWN

    Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

    When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

    Follow the three res. Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.

    Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

    Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

    Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

    When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

    Spend some time alone every day.

    Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

    Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

    Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

    A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

    In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation.

    Don't bring up the past.

    Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

    Be gentle with the earth.

    Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

    Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

    Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

    Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

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  2. http://coateschiropractic.com/index.php?newsletters=11278

    If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep….you are richer than 75% of this world.

    If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace…. You are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

    If you woke up this morning with more health than illness....you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

    If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

    If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

    If your parents are still alive and still married….you are very rare, even in the United States.

    If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful….you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

    If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder….you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.

    If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

    Have a good day, count your blessings and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.
    If you have your own PC at home, you own something that costs more than an average person earns in an entire year in Somalia or Sierra Leone.

    If you are 15 and you live in the UK, you can expect to live to about 77 if you are a boy, or 81 if you are a girl. In the USA you'd expect to live to 75(b) and 80(g), but if you are born in Botswana, you are already half way through your expected time on earth! On average you wouldn't live to see your 31st birthday in Botswana. If you were lucky enough to be born in Andorra though, you will probably live to be 83.

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  3. Seven More Rules:

    Make Peace Of Your Past So It Won't Screw Up Your Present.

    What Other People Think Of You Is None Of Your Business.

    Time Heals Almost Everything. So, Give Time.

    No One Is In Charge Of Your Happiness Except You.

    Don't Compare Your Life With Others & Don't Judge Them For You Have No Idea What Their Journey Is All About.

    Stop Thinking Too Much.

    It's Alright Not To Know All The Answers: They Will Come To You When You Least Expect It.

    Smile. You Don't Own All The Problems In The World.

    ReplyDelete