Lessons Learned Along the Way

Wisdom teachings…wisdom sayings…you know them when you see them. Such things often come to us from the great spiritual teachers. For example, some come from the red-letter teachings of Jesus, some from the Buddha; others take comfort in the thought of the Sufi mystic Rumi. In modern times we are graced with the teachings of Thomas Merton, Carl Sagan and many others. In my case, I found some of the most thought-provoking sayings came from everyday folks and from various cultural heroes. These sayings don’t make the books or appear online as memes. But like the thoughts of the great masters, often the common-sense sayings from just folks jolt us to attention and make us think.
Here are a few I heard over the years that moved me to deep thought, and sometimes to action.

From Rube, a homeless guy drinking cold coffee from a Styrofoam-cup who demonstrated what it means to have “an attitude of gratitude:”
“Cold coffee is better than no coffee.”

From a sign held by another homeless man that reminded me just how hard it can be to love one’s neighbors—with no exceptions. It read:
“Support your local wino.”

From Judy Collins who had a learning disability, encouraging us to give ourselves a break, no matter what type of cross we carry:
“It’s okay to be a slow learner, because then you get better rather than worse.”

From a supervisor on managers and staff working together:
“The idea is to make everybody look good.”

From a recovering alcoholic who warned:
“The higher your expectations, the lower your serenity.”

From Pete Seeger, folksinger and all-around working-class hero who suggested patience but persistence:
“Take it easy, but take it.”

From my precocious three-year-old grandson who seemed to grasp the importance of letting things go. After being strongly reprimanded by his mother, he turned to walk away, shrugged his shoulders and simply said:
“I just want to be happy.”

Advice given by a supervisor on negotiating a huge, complicated project. He asked staff, “How do you eat an elephant?” Confronting blank stares, he continued:
“One bite at a time.”

From a Science of Mind practitioner who taught that thoughts control our behavior and our lives:
“Change your thinking, change your life.”

From a supervisor on a strategy for dealing with contrary persons on the job…and everywhere else:
“Try not to get into a pissing contest.”

From a woman who ran a sandwich shop on discerning what’s really important when you are feeling blue:
“If your health is good, you got absolutely nothing to worry about.”

From a click moment of clarity while jogging:
“Love comes to Love. Anger comes to Anger.”
(Experiment with both. See what happens.)

From Thich Nhat Hahn, the Buddhist monk, who taught when life gets you down and all seems dismal, refocus and take a comprehensive inventory of:
“What is NOT wrong.”

From Anonymous, on how to cope with life’s turbulent ferocity, when everything seems out of control, and you are really, really up against it:
“If you can’t fight or flee, f-l-o-w.”

From a colleague on keeping priorities straight. One day about 11 AM, after hearing staff could go home at 1 PM due to bad weather, he wondered:
“So, how does this impact on lunch?”

From another colleague with creative notions on dealing with a demanding job and work-life challenges:
“It’s never too late to leave early.”

Words a two-year-old can teach that might change your life (and at the right historical moment) perhaps change the world:
“No!”
And just as powerful, rarely expected and not used enough:
“Yes!”
(Ever notice a two-year-old doesn’t do “Maybe.”)

Finally, advice from Yogi Berra, the former Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees who, with one of his characteristic mal-a-props, reminded us we always have choices:
“When you come to the fork in the road, take it.”