Lessons I am still learning

If I summed up everything I have learned so far during my almost 63 years of existence it would still be a short list.  I believe I have much yet to learn.  Most of what I have come to realize is that most of what my parents told me was true.  My father's sage advice to never take myself or life too seriously was spot on and to learn to laugh at myself.  He also told me that life is about change and that it is constantly occurring  so don't get too comfortable.  Be pliable or you will break.

I've also learned that patience, if not acquired naturally should be learned.  It will serve you in ways that you can't imagine.  Patience not only with others but with yourself.  We aren't born knowing everything we need to know to navigate through life.  It takes time, patience and practice to come close to acquiring enough skill just to get by.

When I was young my expectations got the best of me.  I expected love to be perfect.  I expected perfection from myself as a mother.  I expected everyone to be happy all the time.  I expected too much!

I've now learned to appreciate imperfection and all its individuality.  It's our imperfections that make us unique and interesting.

I've learned that life isn't nearly as complicated as we make it.  Treat others as you wish to be treated.  That's pretty simple. When you leave a room make sure those you left behind are glad you came and not happy to see you leave. 

 The mouse trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said "I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.