Rules of Reality

Good Morning,

Many years back I was given the "rules of reality" by a high school
teacher. Of course back then I was too young and "knew way too much"
to see in value in them. After all I was young and going to make my
own. I came across the slip of paper in some things my father had
found in his attic. In reflection I see how so much comes our way and
we simply feel we know better and move on. In the spirit of
reflection I wanted to share the words scrawled on that slip of
paper. They somehow seem to mean just a bit more these days despite
their simplicity.

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average person uses
the phrase or thinks "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. The conditions
in life and our world have no thoughts, no concept of fair.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem
as much as you do. It'll expect you to accomplish something before
you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when
inflated self-esteem meets reality, we complain that it's not fair.
(See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: When you make mistakes, the world is not going to ask you
how you feel about it. What you learn from your mistakes is your
responsibility, including if you learn anything at all.

Rule No. 4: Few jobs are beneath your dignity. All work is opportunity.

Rule No. 5: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are
responsible (See Rule No. 4). This is the flip side of "It's my
life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent
proclamations.

Rule No. 6: There are no winners and losers. Again life has no
concept of this people do. Effort and exploration is as important as
results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to
anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 7: Life is not like when we were in school. We don't get
summers off. And we don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes
on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in
fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer
still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 8: Kindness and compassion towards all people never hurt
anyone. Period.

Rule No. 9: We are not immortal. Death is the next part of life and
very real. Pretending it isn't so, avoiding the subject or sugar
coating it helps no one.

Rule No. 10: Enjoy it all while you can. Sure there is pain, work can
be a bother, and life is full of ups and downs. But hopefully you'll
realize how wonderful it is. We can start right here, right now.

Have a wonderful day and ponder this thought - Reality is determined
not by what scientists or anyone else says or believes but by what
life reveals to us

Peace and Love, Jim