What really matters in life?

Class, status,
Education,
Being loved,
A big diamond ring,
The smell of freshly mown grass,
Food and shelter,
A hamburger with a large side order of fries?

Passion.

A passion in life will relieve you of sorrow.

How to sanctify tears.

In my own life, I have relied very heavily on the love of my friends who are in fact, my family. In hard times and sad times, it was friends who sanctified my tears.

A true friend weeps with you.

Jesus was penniless.

Whether you believe in God or Jesus or not, here's an interesting thought from a friend of mine.

She had emptied her bank account to pay her bills and to send some money to her daughter who is studying the US. Every month is a struggle and as fast as the money comes in, it goes out. But she is still of excellent humour and we laugh a lot.

"After all," she quipped, "Jesus was penniless."

It got me wondering that anyone can have a remarkable and beneficial impact on the lives of others even if they have nothing themselves.

Bees come and go.

It is a joyous thing to observe bees. There is a species of flowering plant called (appropriately) Cosmos that the bees just love and of which I have two in my garden. The plant grows quickly and flowers abundantly in Summer. Bees appear seemingly from nowhere and hop from one flower to the next in no particular order. Up they go to the top of the plant in search of the precious nectar. Down they go to the lowest flower on the plant. They come, they go, in search of flowers. They just are. If we could just be how happy life would seem!!

Is it love?

The feeling of love in youth is a sensational, consuming thing that devours us whole and is often without reason. Love in middle age is sedate yet cunning in it's ambition.

Thorns.

In the Spring I came upon the holly growing wild in the woods. The young leaves, a translucent green, so soft and delicate to the touch, their thorns still jelly-like and pliable. These unformed leaves are so unlike the scourge of gardeners who are forced to wear thick gloves to protect their fingers from the painful thorns of the fully matured leaves of this slowest growing of shrubs. We are like the holly- in our youth pliable and fragile and in our older years, we grow thorns to hurt others and ourselves. The distance between our youth and old age is long like the holly that takes years to grow a mere 12 inches. And our advance as spiritual beings is slow and the thorns inevitable.

Never lie to your children.

It will take a child their entire lifetime to undo the damage inflicted by a parent's lies. When you tell lies, you condemn your child to a lifetime of sadness.

Never knowingly hurt another.

Do whatever you want however you want and whenever you want but never, ever consciously drag another person down or harm any living being. You have no right to harm another and your soul will take eons to recover.

The sages say that when you've figured it all out, you're ready to die.

And if you're really lucky and blessed, you will figure it out.

I've learned to sift through much of what life bombards me with and my mechanism for finding peace is constantly being hewn. If we live long enough, we should find bliss before we die.

Great art endures.

In your lifetime, go to the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and see the Night Watch. That will speedily cure you of any reverence you possess towards modern art. Art has to endure to be worthy of greatness. Ask yourself if any of the stuff created today will still be awe inspiring in the future.

Challenges are opportunities.

Think of the way forward by confronting the challenges head on. Don't let difficulties and set backs stop you becoming a better person.

Do not allow anyone to be responsible for your unhappiness.

If your partner doesn't make you happy, leave and never look back.

Develop a daily routine.

Still in your pyjamas at noon? Chances are you will get nowhere fast in life. No routine equals no aspirations.

Limit citrus intake to daytime.

Citrus has a way of causing reflux which can cause damage to your teeth while you sleep. Try and limit your love of citrus to daylight hours.

Lemon juice and water.

Start the day by drinking the juice of a lemon in a glass of spring water. The bitter taste can be hard to swallow but your body will benefit.

Trust no one.

Everyone will let you down at some stage in your life. Everyone. There are no exceptions here. Even the person you are closest to or married to or your best friend will have a moment of self doubt or angst that will prevent them from being 100% genuine or honest with you. Or they will do something they bitterly regret.

Most of the time people will say things they don't mean or think you want to hear. And very often people will take advantage of you and take what they can get from you.

Unless you trust yourself more than anyone or anything you could be setting yourself up for an almighty fall.

Trust who you are and what you represent and be the arbiter of what you believe.