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Isn’t it funny how people are full of advice, advice they don’t take themselves?
I try really hard not to give advice, afraid someone will take me seriously when I could be wrong.
My sister was always offering up advice. Little suggestions. Tiny little pearls of wisdom. Okay, that’s not quite true. My sister was always telling me what to do and how to live my life to the point that I have stomped my feet and screamed “YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!” Unseemly for a 60-something, I know, but sometimes you have to put your foot down.
Best advice?
God said “love one another.” Jesus said “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Good advice.
A piece of advice I took to heart came from one of my least favorite people. Joel Osteen said “faith and fear are the same thing, believing in something you can’t see. Choose faith.” When faced with a challenge, I do choose faith. Sidenote: I once liked him but then Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and he wouldn’t open his sanctuary to those seeking sanctuary, but that’s another rant for another day.
My mother gave me the best piece of advice days before her death, 20 years ago this week. I had crawled into her hospital bed with her; she had her arms around me, gently rubbing my back. Mother said, “you always take such good care of everyone else, but not yourself. You need to be good to yourself.” She went on, “you always have such good ideas but you never follow through. You need to believe in yourself.” Then she said, “but more than anything, you need to be happy.” I looked up at her, her deep brown eyes filled with love, and asked, somewhat indignantly, “why didn’t you tell me that when I was 17?” She laughed and laughed and told me she didn’t know it then.
Be good to yourself.
Believe in yourself.
Be happy.
Good advice.
For years I had those three sentences on a post-it note and read them every day. Somehow they were lost along the way. I had forgotten her words of wisdom until a few weeks ago when something jogged my memory. Maybe it was my mom.
Be good to yourself.
Believe in yourself.
Be happy.
Best advice I’ve ever received.
Mothers always know best.
