Dalai Lama's 18 rules for living

This list really spoke to me. These truly are words of wisdom. I have highlighted the ones that I think are particularly important to me.

1.Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2.When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3.Follow the three Rs:
Respect for self
Respect for others
Responsibility for all your actions.
4.Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5.Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6.Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7.When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8.Spend some time alone every day.
9.Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10.Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11.Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12.A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13.In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14.Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15.Be gentle with the earth.
16.Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17.Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18.Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

much love,
Judas

Advice on a train

Riding the train cross country was truly an experience. The people you meet, the places you experience, the smells you take in even the extremes in weather. What was facinating about taking a train is the sense of community. It was like stepping into a neighborhood from another era. The people were so friendly and open (probably due to the fact that you won't see these people ever again). I sat next to an older black woman from Georgia and she told me about her husband who had passed away earlier that year. She gave me advice on how to keep my husband happy and I remember her telling me that "you should never let anyone into your bedroom even your children" & "your bedroom is sacred and meant for intimacy" she also told me to "never go to bed angry, stay up and fight".

I sat next to a number of people and even other peoples children which I thought was strange. If I had a child I would want to keep them as close as possible and I certainly wouldn't want them sitting/sleeping next to a stranger in another part of the train. I guess given my innocent face they figured I would probably watch them and keep them from harm -which I did.

I sat next to a 17 year old boy who was from one of those states that starts with an M. He was on his way to live with his brother in New York or Maryland where he was going to try to get into some private school to become a minister and also compete in a yoyo competition (I never knew yoyoing was a competetive sport). He was very interesting to me because first of all he was the first attractive person I had sat next to in my two weeks riding the train. It also helped that he entertained me with yoyo tricks. He was very tall, with big hands, pouty lips, brown curly hair and naturally tan skin.

We talked a lot and watched a movie on a viewer I had rented at the Union Station in Chicago. Of course our conversation turned to sex and him saving himself for his future wife. I thought it would be so romantic to save yourself for marriage and the idea of this attractive guy actually doing that made like him even more. I gave him the best advice I could for the big night when ever it may be and he gave me some good pointers on how to perform "the ferris wheel" with a yoyo he gave me.

The people on the train are one of kind. It was fun talking to people knowing I would never see them again after they or I boarded another train in another direction. I often wonder about everyone I talked to or observed on the train. How the family reunion was was for the elderly black woman from Georgia, if the children had similar memories to mine from the train and if the 17yr old ever gave into the temptations of a girlfriend.