Sage Advice… Reminiscing Childhood Memories

All of us 'grown-ups' probably share some interesting stories from childhood. How many times have we heard someone say 'my father used to say', or 'my grandfather always told me', or 'my mother was right when she said so”?

So, to lighten things up things a bit, I thought it would be to nice to share some of those very special sayings, and perhaps talk about how those sage sayings affected our lives. I will start with a couple that my father used to stress… he would make all of us, his children, repeat the following such that it is permanently inscribed in our hearts and in our memories:

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost
When health is lost, something is lost
When character is lost, everything is lost”

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until good is better and better is best”

I never really thought much about these growing up, but now I can see the treasure chest of wisdom in these simplistic words. The first one puts life in perspective, reminds my siblings and I, that wealth is inconsequential in the 'real' sense, that health is more important (a person would give up his entire wealth to cure himself of a disease), and that character is really what defines a man. And really, without good character, your wealth will not help you much, your wealth cannot control your health, and as a wealthy man without a good character, you will have a hard time keeping sincere friends or a happy family. Then what becomes the point of wealth?

As for the second one, you see, I never realized until now that a measure of the 'best' is defined by the character of a person. That seeking that 'best' at the expense of the character would render this 'achievement' useless. So, maintaining one's good character, we seek to improve ourselves, as humans, as humble servants of God, as citizens of our nations; until we can be the best in whatever we are striving in.

It's your turn…