Living Life to the Full - 10 tips

Hi.

This blog is a response to a request from a friend to give some input into a teaching session on living life to the full.

Without meaning to teach anyone how to suck eggs, here is a distillation of my wisdom so far.

Feel free to feed back with opinions/questions/criticisms/witticisms/etc.

Gerald.

5 BIG TIPS

1. Don't be scared....

The opposite of love is not hatred - it is fear (often expressed as hatred).

Don't worry!

Don't be anxious, nervous...

Fear is the Devil's weapon (a way he has of keeping us trapped and struggling).

Use the weapon of Love!

2. Love!

Love yourself.

Love God.

Love your "neighbour" (i.e. everyone else!).

Love strangers (no ref.to "stranger danger" - but a way of conquering fear).

Love your enemies...

3. Share!

Nothing in this world is exclusively yours - not even "your" self.

Not sharing creates thirst for power.

Leads to greed.

Possessiveness.

Fear of losing that which isn't ours....

4. One Day at a Time...

We cannot see beyond each day with absolute certainty.

One day you may be living in a palace.

Next day it may burn down.

One day at a time is enough to cope with (still, make good plans!).

One day at a time is enough to share and enjoy.

5. Life is a Gift.

Not a trial.

Not a punishment.

Not a test.

A yummy, delicious, special, colourful gift that comes from God.

With a purpose and an adventure and a taste.

Enjoy!

5 DAY-TO-DAY TIPS

1. Don't forget your "manners".

Enjoy saying "please", "thank you", "sorry"...

To someone.

If to God,that becomes a prayer.

If to others, a way of building relationship.

If to self, a way of accomplishing wholeness.

2. Good Food

Never eat food just because it's there.

And enjoy every mouthful.

And if you don't like the taste, why struggle with it?

Stuff that looks, smells and tastes good to you.

Whether you be vegetarian, carnivore, honey-and-locusts afficionado...

Drink comes under the same heading.

3. Good Music (and Books)

Feed the body, and feed the soul.

Music touches the parts that other delights can't.

Books kindle our imagination and sense of adventure.

Both are a way of inspiring, an avenue for the imagination, a channel for emotions.

And both offer a way of structuring our lives beyond the here and now.

4. Good Adventures

Every day offers us the chance to go exploring.

Often we want to stick with what we know.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...

But sometimes even hobbits walk out through their front door.

Getting up in the morning CAN be an adventure!

5. Forgive...

Don't take anger or bitterness past the sunset...

Life is to short to carry forward the hurts of one day into the next.

Forgiveness brings wholeness to you, freedom for your "attacker" and restoration to a relationship.

Let the burden go!

As we forgive, so we are forgiven.

Well, that's a few things.

There a many more tips and stories in the Bible...I don't do these things every day, but I do aspire to live by them...

They are not written in stone, but in one's life (one hopes!).

Hope they help.

Love,

Gerald.