Moms Wisdom

My Mom is in her seventies, and has seen a lot in her lifetime. She faced challenges that we all face one way or the other. She has seen successes and many happy times throughout her life.

Recently, we were talking and I asked her if she could give me just three pieces of advice to live my life what would they be. After some thought, she said she would have to think about it. It surprised me that she wanted time to think about it. She always was free with her advice sometimes even when I didn't want to hear it.

I arrived at her house the next day where she handed me a piece of paper with her three pieces of wisdom written out. She explained to me that if she was only able to give me three, that these three were the most important.

As I read them, I realized the importance of what she was telling me. She wasn't telling me to save my money, nor was she telling me to work hard. Her three most important things to live a happy life were truly pieces of wisdom.

What were they? Here is the wisdom my Mom shared with me:

1. Make each new day count by helping someone or just making someone smile.
Part of this personal philosophy is all about giving from within so that another person is happier for the fact that they have run into you, and know you. This strength to make someone happy comes from your own sense of well-being and happiness. So, in order to help someone or make them smile, you must have a sense of giving to others, which in turn is given back to you through their thanks or through their simple smile back to you. Life is not about receiving at all times; it is a combination of being thankful for what you have as blessings and sharing those blessings with others who need a little fraction of what you have.

2. Don't dwell on life's troubles, think of the good times.
Everybody has troubles in life. No one is immune. But, troubles are no different than bad weather in that bad weather affects everyone but it is also true that bad weather passes sooner or later. When there is bad weather, the best thing to overcome its doom and gloom is to remember all the good weather you have experienced in the past, and recall all those fun and enjoyable things that you did to appreciate the beauty of the day. For example, a simple walk in the park watching and listening to all the sounds and sights, or that enjoyable picnic by the side of a babbling brook where peace and tranquility surrounded you.

3. Don't worry about things you can't do anything about.
Worry is one of the most debilitating and useless of all emotions. Worry is not about the ability or the decision to control or to do something positive; it is all about a self-centred behavior that leads to nothing except to cause a person stress. When issues that you can do something about confront you that is a totally different matter.