I’ve had my share of knocks and bruises in this life…and I’ve also had my days in the sun. One thing I’ve learned is that we are never given more than we can handle. I wrote these rules to live by when in Scotland, and tucked them away in a draft folder because I felt there was more that should be added…but since life is a work in progress, we can only start where we are. Today is a good of day as any to post these.
7 Rules to live by
1. Always leave a place better than when you found it.
Consider planet earth your living room. You are a visitor here, clean up after yourself. This includes your personal trash left on subways, restaurants, or any public space. Also, when visiting friends and relatives, leave no trace of your presence other than a smile on your host’s face, or wonderful gifts left behind…leading to #2
2. Even small gifts make a big difference.
I was recently staying at a friend’s house. He said it would be good to stop by and visit the neighbors and introduce myself. I did. I forgot to bring a gift. The next day, they stopped over with a whole array of presents. I was embarrassed by my lack of thoughtfulness and filled with gratitude they taught me this lesson. Their generosity was wonderful and increased the serotonin levels in everyone present. Even if you don’t have money to spend you can still be clever and find something to give…a hand picked flower can work wonders.
3. Never take anything not freely given.
Also known as “thou shall not steal.” Pretty self-explanatory, but don’t take anything unless it has been given to you. If you are unsure, quiet your mind and ask the item in question. It will tell you. This also applies to rocks…ever visited the volcano in Hawaii? Legend says one should never take volcanic rocks off the island or Pele will be upset and misfortune will follow. From what I gather, this is true as the postal service on the island is constantly receiving packages marked “for Pele, please return,” containing rocks taken as souveniers from the island.
4. Everything you need is right in front of you. You just need eyes to see.
I loved the TV series McGyver. Not only was he from my home state, Minnesota, but he could always find his way out of a jam using whatever was right in front of him. Get creative.
5. You are only limited by your own mind.
My mom always said this to my sisters and me to encourage us to reach further than what we thought our own limitations were – to set our goals higher to where there is no limit to what we can do. Dream big. Often we don’t give ourselves enough credit and once we realize that our abilities are endless – and only limited by ourselves – we will also realize that we can manifest anything we want – really.
6. Don’t take everything so seriously.
Rule number six is credited to a teaching by Wayne Dyer. According to him, there are no other rules. I’ve added a few that I personally like because it’s my list. The light-hearted approach is always best.
7. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
Add on to this, if you don’t have anything nice to think, don’t think (this is not original, I heard it on Hay House radio but can’t remember who said it).
Why waste time in negativity? Life is too short for the downward spiral. Easy to say, takes some effort to remember and apply. One day at a time.
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