L is for Lessons: Building Skills

 Lion King had a lot of life lessons to share with you, far more than what I included in the post, but life lessons are to be found in everyday life too.  They can be good or bad, that isn't the important thing. What matters is that the experience taught you something that will help you shape the time ahead with more purpose and skill. Maybe you learned that you were not as prepared for the experience as you thought you were and so you had to call in reinforcements to get you through that moment in time.  But you also learned that others were there to support you when you needed to call on them which is a reminder that you too should be there for others in their moment of need.

One person's act of kindness contributes to the recipient also performing an act of kindness for someone else. This is a key lesson that I do not see as often in the younger generation as compared to the older generation.  Simple examples are holding a door open for the next person or cleaning up after another person as well as yourself. Maybe we are getting too preoccupied with our own lives to set this example for younger ones and so they are not seeing our positive models for them to follow?

I encourage you all to create opportunities for the child(ren) in your life to practice kindness. Help them by setting the example and send out cards to people stuck at home to let them know they are in your thoughts or to make a meal or a dessert to take over to another family 'just because' they matter. In a recent snow storm we had two young ladies come to help us dig a path to get our car back into our driveway when we realized we were not going to make it off our street. It was so kind of them and set a great example to us and others about being kind to our neighbours in moments of need. When we come together in these circumstances we make each other stronger by joining forces together.  The physical strength literally made the difference in this situation but even just knowing you do not have to face the situation alone offers strength that keeps people going when they want to give up.

Opportunities to practice gratitude also matter. Children should have life lessons about thanking people. We should all set the example of being thankful for the clothes we have, for the mode of transportation and housing and access to services.  Not everyone is so blessed and just because others may have more doesn't mean you shouldn't be grateful for what you do have.  I remember a saying, "What would you have tomorrow if you only had the things you gave thanks for today?" Powerful. In reality, you could give thanks all day long and not run out of things to be thankful for and yet sometimes we think coming up with a list of three things each day is too much to ask.  However, practicing gratitude has the biggest impact on the one giving thanks. It changes something in how we view our life and the world around us and somehow makes everything brighter and better.  Consider going around the table each day to share something you are thankful for.  Some people will say the same thing over and over with no true gratitude. Challenge them by either pressing them for WHY they are grateful or by seeing who runs out of ideas first.  There is a game where people list off words related to a topic, no repeats, until someone cannot think of another word.  Try listing what we are thankful for and see how far you can go to get them past their 'rut'. 

Other lessons like be truthful, do your best, family first and more are numerous. Many of them apply to all humanity. Individuals can focus on set ones that represent their beliefs and/or their family priorities just as schools or companies choose key words to represent their best practices. Overall though, I think we need to take more time to actually teach children what lessons are most important and how to practice these skills in everyday life to make us all better as individuals, families, classes, societies and as part of the human race. It is our duty and our privilege.