The ABC’s of Life
A
accept
I accept who I am and I am
happy to be just as I am. I am not my brother or my sister, I am me and
this is how it’s going to be. I also accept my responsibility and
perform it willingly. I accept everyone who comes on my
path as fellow travelers in this life’s journey. I am content with who
you are as I am content with who I am.
B
balance
Balance the opposing
factors of your life: balance work with play; activity with rest and
sleep; new learning with routine activity; being with others and being
alone; listening and speaking; reading and writing; working indoors
and working outdoors. Like a two-pan scale, life constantly swings
from one side of the scale to the other. We constantly shift to
restore balance for life does not stand still.
C
concentrate
When sunlight is focused
on a magnifying glass its rays can burn a piece of paper. Similarly, with
our mind focused on what we are doing, we can accomplish our work. Children
sing this rhyme - “Work while you work, play while
you play, that is the way to be happy and gay.” When we are mindful of
everything that we do, every act is a prayer and a hymn to the universe.
D
determined
We keep our eye on the
prize, never lose sight of our goal. If we know where we are going, we
will get there. We face in the direction of the goal, and every step we
take brings us closer to it. Our strong determination sustains us
with extra strength to meet challenges on the way and brings a feeling
of certainty of getting there.
E
enjoy
Take time to smell the
flowers, wait for the sunrise in the morning and the sunset at dusk.
Rejoice in the landmark achievements of a child – the first walk, first
word, writing and reading explosion.
Enjoy each task and take time to have fun.
F
forgive
Forgive others for they
know not what they do. Forgive ourselves for doing what we should not
have done or for failing to do what we should have done. We learn
from our mistakes and move on.
G
give
We benefit as we share.
The flower gives its fragrance and beauty to attract insects to sip its
nectar. The insect cross - pollinates as it moves from flower
to flower thus continuing the life of
the plant.
H
hear
We have two ears and one
mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak. We hear the cry from
pain, laughter from joy, loving words spoken and even hear the words
unspoken, the sound of silence. It is knowing that we have been
truly listened to which gives us a sense of peace and heals our mind and
soul.
.
I
imagine
How would it look if the
problem were solved? Imagine your ideal world – a world without
war, sickness,
hunger, poverty, homelessness, man’s cruelty to fellow human
beings and animals. We start with a dream and soon the
dream becomes a reality. Dream big, big things happen when
we think big.
J
judge
Judge fairly, temper
judgment with mercy and if possible refrain from making judgments.
Suspend making judgments until the mind has obtained and evaluated the facts and
the heart felt with compassion on the issue at hand.
Judgment made without intelligence has no substance, judgment
made without feelings is insensitive.
K
know
All that we seek to know
already lies within our hearts. No one can really impart knowledge
to another. We can only lead the student to ask the question that one can
then answer and make that learning his/her own. We can
understand the laws of the universe because we are part of the
universe. We are a microcosm as the universe is the macrocosm. All we
need to do is knock and the door opens its storehouse of knowledge
and wisdom to those who are ready and willing to
learn.
L
love
The laws of the universe
can be summed up in two commandments: Love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, mind, soul and strength. That is the first commandment.
The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. We have
only learned to love ourselves above all else. That is selfishness.
True love is self-sacrifice for the sake of the beloved as the
pelican plucks its feathers to line its nest to make a comfortable, warm home for the birdie.
M
marvel
The world is a wonderful
place and we need to marvel at the beauty that surrounds us – the
sky, the ocean, the trees.
N
nurture
We need to nurture others
as we need to be nurtured. We need to be nurtured physically (food, water,
warmth), emotionally (we need to love and to be loved), intellectually (to
inquire, to seek, to understand), socially (to belong) and
spiritually (faith, hope, charity).
O
organize
We spend more time looking
for something any time we need something than if we took the time in the first
place to organize, catalog, label and index or list the files
organized. We find we have more time if we plan and prioritize our
activities and do first things first instead of backtracking our steps. Order
creates beauty and beauty inspires us to noble actions.
P
protect
Our vital organs are
protected by bones – the brain is encased in a skull, the heart and lungs are
protected by the ribs. Birds and mammals protect their young. The earth
has an ozone layer in our atmosphere to protect us from the damaging
effects of the sun’s radiation. We need to protect our bodies, our
children and our earth from harmful substances to promote healthy
bodies, healthy children and healthy planet.
Q
quell
Quell anger. It leads to
hurting others. Rather find ways to resolve conflicts amicably in a
win-win situation and establish peace. Quell jealousy. It makes
enemies out of friends. Quieten your mind and allow the voice
of conscience from within to be heard.
R
respect
When we respect someone we
hold him/her in high esteem. With respect comes courtesy,
consideration and kind regard.
S
speak
There are three questions
to ask ourselves before we speak: Is it true? Is it kind? Is
it helpful? Unless all three questions are answered in the affirmative, we keep
our mouth shut. A child may be spoiled or slow, that is
true. Calling a child spoiled, is that kind? Is it helpful? I don’t
think so. I would remain silent on this issue but would rather
talk to the mother to build a working relationship and get to know more
about the child.
T
teach
Montessori said, “Teach
teaching, not correcting.” Kabbalah’s advice to parents is - “Be a
teacher, not a preacher.” The art of teaching is to discover what
makes a student tick, what motivates a student to learn and how
can a teacher reach a student to make the lesson meaningful.
U
understand
We teach for
understanding, not senseless memorization. We teach the few fundamental
principles of a subject matter so the student can find applications of the
principle into our everyday life. Understanding of one
principle leads to the understanding of another. Living accordingly from
understanding the laws of the universe leads to joy and fulfillment.
V
value
We can tell the kind of
person one is by what he/she values. “Where your heart is that’s where
your treasure is.” What do we value? Do we value friendship more or
winning an argument? Do we value material things more at the
expense of going into debt or do we value financial security and delaying making
purchases until we have the money? What we end up doing is guided by
our value system.
W
watch
Things do not just happen
all of a sudden. Events develop over a time period and signals
could be seen at each stage of development. It is when we watch
with vigilance that we see the signs and take the necessary action.
It is when we do not watch that we come unprepared for the event and recognize
it as something that happened all
of a sudden. It is incumbent for us to be prepared at all times for
we know not the day nor
the hour….
X
extra
Walk the extra mile to
help somebody. Put a little more effort than the minimum required.
Give an extra handful of nuts to add to someone’s share. These extra
little gifts turn out to be investment yielding huge dividends in the
future.
Y
yield
Yield to others in things
that do not matter (what color dinner napkin to buy). We need not argue
about every little thing. Save the big discussion for the really
important matters that affect our life (going to college).
Frequently bickering about every trivial thing lessens our
sensitivity to listen to each other and we fail to listen just when we really
need to.
Z
zest
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Perform your tasks with zest
and the task becomes easy.
