When I was little, my Mama took us to Sunday School. I particularly remember the little Methodist Church in Graefenberg, KY. Here are a lot of lessons I learned and want to pass on as legacy. I also went to Henry Clay Elementary School from 2nd to 4th grades and learned a lot during that time.
Life Lessons I Learned at a Young Age that have Served Me Well (Not that I Live Them Perfectly Nor Do You Have to Live them Perfectly to Live Them Well):
- Serve God (and carefully discern what that means
- Tell the Truth (and learn good discernment tools for knowing what is the Truth)
- Honor your parents (and they don’t have to know EVERYTHING you do as an adult)
- Listen to your teachers (and discern)
- Work hard (and don’t become a workaholic so that it takes over your life)
- Try new things
- Keep your promises
- Do your best
- Say please and thank you
- Remember you are loved
- Laugh a lot; humor is important
- Think about (discern) what is good for you in the bigger picture
- Accept others who are different from you
- Look for the good in yourself and others
- Pay attention to what you are doing
- Pay attention to what is happening around (don’t put your head in the sand when things are wrong; stand up)
- The world is big; explore it
- When you are afraid, say so; be careful who you say it to Be a good listener
- Share your life and connect with others
- Be kind (and learn there are nuanced meanings of the word)
- Say your prayers (and know that means something different for different people) *Be thankful (many times a day)
- Listen and follow your deepest knowings (in what you do with your life, big and small decisions)
- Walk your talk
- Find the compassionate place in your heart and live there
- Anything worth doing is worth doing well” (doesn’t mean perfectly; desire for excellence is not perfectionism; perfectionism stifles real life)
**Living with what some call “habits of thrift” have served me well. Or as my Grandma used to say, “Waste Not, Want Not.” I have read that learning “habits of thrift” and not wasting your money is the single most important lesson for those in poverty to get out. It was/is for me!
Be sure all of these have ever-changing meaning and are more than words and clichés.