I ran across these “Goals/Advocations” which I wrote for myself back in high school:
- Never be prejudiced
- See the very best in everything
- Don’t change beliefs and morals
- Protect and teach everyone you can
- Don’t make enemies
- Don’t be blinded by emotions
- Don’t hurt anyone unless a totally justifiable cause exists
- Always keep an open mind and listen more than you speak
- Recognize your weaknesses and strengthen them
- Always care
- Try your hardest to be fluent in the language of truth
- Continuously practice random acts of kindness on a regular basis
I think they are good and they were especially good when they were written. However, due to experience, I think we learn as we grow older and things become more deep in our hearts. Some of these goals, for example, mean a lot more to me now and some I’d like to clarify:
- Avoid being prejudiced by learning to be accepting, understanding and appreciative
- See the very best in everything and everyone
- Stand up for what you know to be right, but be flexible in understanding others
- Be careful to protect, teach and respect others whenever you can
- Don’t make enemies. Remember a smile is the shortest distance between two people
- Don’t be blinded by emotions. Be thoughtful, honest, compassionate and understanding.
- Don’t hurt anyone or anything
- Always keep an open mind and listen more than you speak
- Recognize your weaknesses and strengthen them
- Always care for world of people, animals and things around you
- Try your hardest to understand things as they really are and to be honest with yourself
- Regularly practice random acts of kindness
Michelangelo said, “"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." If anything, I think that’s what I’m doing here. We each develop and gain more and more experience, etching away toward the true picture of ourselves that was always there. Some day.
