Five Lessons of Life

As I get older….I notice two things.

I have experienced enough in life to have some measure of wisdom. I also have less patience…..and a third thing has to do with excessive urination….but I digress.

About 14 years ago I set out to write a Sunday School lesson for my class at the Bethalto United Methodist Church. They were a great group. I miss them dearly to this day.

The lesson was called: “Five Lessons of Life.” It was simple…but my wisdom tells me these days that that simplicity is sometimes the most valuable element of successfully living life. So here it is-----my five lessons of life. Use it, abuse it, but please consider the simple message.

Lesson one. There is nothing worth doing in life that is easy. Every new job I’ve undertaken, every new role I’ve assumed has been humbling at first. I was a lousy teacher…but survived by being entertaining until I understood the craft. I am sure I was a highly suspect Dad when I first got the opportunity to parent. I was maybe the worst television anchor in the history of the medium. I had a good audience because they simply couldn’t believe how badly I butchered copy. When foisted back onto the market after 25 years of marriage….I was an extremely inadequate dater. In all examples, I eventually figured it out. But Lord, I have been bad at a cornucopia of careers only to hang in there and persevere.

Lesson two. Meet your problems head on. When I am involved in a particularly sticky situation, I instantly remember that worry will not solve the problem. I can only solve the problem by meeting it head one. The side benefit of this strategy is that people respect it. No one wants to be jerked around by someone who can’t make a decision. Also, if you screw up….be the first one to admit it. History is replete with leaders who would never have been hurt by making the original mistake but were killed in the cover-up. (See Richard Nixon and Bill “I never had sex with that woman” Clinton. People love to forgive in our society. They want to give you a second chance. But nobody can tolerate a liar.

Number three. Think hard about your principles, commit yourself to those core beliefs, and don’t compromise. To thine own self be true. If you wake up each day and test the political wind to determine your own direction, you will waffle through life. I respect people who have counter opinions to my own but I can spot a phony from across the county.

Number four. Besides the stories of the Bible…I believe that history is our greatest teacher. Learn from your past. Before I met Carol, I spent two years thinking hard about the mistakes of my past relationship. I wrote down eight things that I simply needed to have in any future relationships. It was remarkable to me that Carol perfectly matched those eight things. I couldn’t have written the manifesto if I had not learned from my past mistakes. Fool me once, shame on you…..Fool me twice….shame on me.

And number five….There is ultimate justice. I do not worry anymore about O.J. getting off for the murder of Nicole. I don’t replay the horrible events around my departure from Bethalto…..I don’t hate anyone. It is not my job. Ultimate justice and judgment await all of us. It is not a wise use of my time. Rather, I am committed to taking responsibility for my own actions. I won’t blame anyone else when I mess something in my personal life or at work. I don’t make excuses and I don’t accept them from the people who I surround myself with. If someone goes out of their way to cross me, I walk away from the relationship and find solace in knowing there will be ultimate justice for their actions.

I have a great quote to conclude this small, yet serious blog. I can’t find the author….

“There is no limit to the amount of good that people can accomplish if they don’t care who gets the credit.”

Amen.  

Those are my five lessons of life.

Got one?

Please share.