8/23/03

Strive always to keep your life simple and within your ability to deal with all its circumstances. Endeavour always to keep your level of understanding at a higher level than those circumstances.

   For example, know that your car moves along smoothly at 50kph, but be aware that it can go twice that speed. As you get comfortable with the car, begin to train yourself to handle speeds in excess of 50 kph. Train yourself to handle the car at increased rates of speed, and as you feel more comfortable at the higher speeds and will be able to handle your car effectively without getting into an accident.

   As you gain maturity and wisdom in your life, you will be better equipped to handle some of the unexpected situations that pop up occasionally to test your abilities. With each new day, that increases in complexity, your ability to deal with it is at a higher level and you will not become overwhelmed. Exercise patience and good judgment and you will remain in control. Life will not get ahead of you, because you have prepared yourself. Maintain a level of understanding that is always higher than the circumstances of your life.

   None of us are born with the skills to deal with children. Most of us plan to have some in our future. To become prepared for the event, you must plan ahead and get involved with them at some level, before you have your own. This will keep you at a higher level of understanding and for much of the time you will not be overwhelmed with them, depending on what your level of experience has been.

   Money is something we all have to deal with, it is an excellent place to focus your attention. Few of us are born with the ability to manage money effectively. Most all of the difficulties surrounding money in our lives, comes from mismanagement of the money we have, or borrowed. A lack of patience, most often is the root cause of poor decisions around money that gets us into trouble. When we look at consumer debt worldwide, we can observe that we have borrowed money to purchase things we wanted now, and were not prepared to wait for it. We spend a good part of our life paying off debt. Our desire to purchase is at a higher level than our ability to handle the extra responsibility. Instead of the other way around. We have made our lives more complicated and we enjoy less, the things that we have desired, they no longer represent enjoyment, but are a constant reminder of the responsibility we have to pay for them. Often the debt keeps us in jobs that we no longer find fulfilling. We have gotten into a position of not being able to afford the satisfaction of having what we desire.

   To maximize the enjoyment in our lives that was always meant to be, we must learn to enjoy the trip and forget about focusing on the destination. This prepares us to handle side trips, delays or even not reaching our destination, with gratitude. The added insight has allowed us to enjoy all the aspects of our journey.

   Life begins on the path, and ends when we reach the end. Slow down and be grateful for the opportunity to experience getting back to where you started from. The flavour of the desert is gone, once you ate the last bite. Always be prepared and continue to strive to be smarter than your teacher. Stop often to smell the roses.