7/26/2019 Life is a Sincere Teacher

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1. Life is a sincere teacher. It is always ready to teach us lessons, even if we are not

interested and do not want to learn them. The relationships we entered, stayed in

or even ended impart important lessons in life.

2. The irony is that most of the time, the writing is on the wall, but we prefer to look

away finding it too harsh to accept. Too late in life I learnt many lessons which Iwould like to share with my readers. Looking back at my life at the threshold of

old age, I wonder… there are so many ifs and buts !hat would life have been if Ihad learnt my lessons in time" #aybe, my life would have been totally different.

$. Too late in life I learnt to take a stand. %ften when I found myself in a confronting

situation, I preferred to retreat instead of holding my ground and fighting for whatwas right in my opinion. The coward inside me feared the disapproval of the

 people I loved, and I gave in to demands which at times seemed un&ust or selfish.

I &ust lacked the courage to defend my rights, until eventually one day I found

myself pushed against the wall.

'. In a do or die situation, I learnt to retaliate but it was too late, as the people around

me had become used to my meekness and e(pected me to keep on relenting. I

learnt very late that other people)s opinion about me was not as important as my

self*esteem and what I thought about myself.

+. Too late in life I learnt to make my own decisions. orn, brought up and married

in a strongly patriarchal society, I was accustomed to havig my decisions

influenced by my father, brother, husband or son. There were many times when Idiffered with their opinions and that too strongly, but I lacked the courage to

e(press my views. -owever reluctantly, I accepted their decisions.

. /nd then the day finally came when I mustered the courage to say, 0enough is

enough) and took my life and its decisions in my own hands. Things changeddramatically. I do not boast that I have never been wrong, but at least I now have

the satisfaction that if I make a mistake, I will pay the price of my own error and

not for someone else)s.

. Too late in life I realised that I myself was in charge of my happiness. or a longtime I kept on lamenting about what I did not have and so could not en&oy the

 bounties that I possessed. I learnt that I could have the world)s best and still could

 be unhappy or I could be happy at simple things.

3. The first ray of light at dawn, the innocent smile of a child, a butterfly flutteringover flowers or a rainbow in a clear blue sky after rainfall had the power to make

me happy but only if I wanted to be. I learnt that we have to teach ourselves to be

happy, to be content with what we have instead of always wishing for somethingthat cannot be ours.

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4. Too late in life I con5uered the fear of making mistakes. I wanted to e(periment,

to try out new ideas but I was afraid of failure. I learnt very late that failures often

opened the gateway to success and e(perience, and wisdom is gained at the risk of making mistakes.

16. To have tried and failed is better than not having tried at all.

11. Too late in life I learnt to say no. There were times when I &ust didn)t want to do

something, go somewhere, entertain some people or take up a responsibilitywhich was not mine. ut I was scared to say no, scared I would lose my place in

the good books of people I loved, scared that they would call me selfish and un*

cooperative.

12. The desire to please everyone kept me so busy that I had hardly anytime formyself, to pursue what I en&oyed in life. I finally learnt that I must give myself

time and that would be possible only when I did not comply with family and

friend)s wrongful demands. /ny additional responsibility which made me happywas worth taking, but if something made me angry or frustrated, I should not feel

guilty to say 07o).

1$. Too late in life I realised that for a marriage to be successful, respect for your

spouse is more important than love for him8her. There are situations when lovemay not be able to pass the test of difficulties and may fi99le out at some stage in

life, but if you have respect for your spouse, your marriage has a better chance to

survive the rocks.

1'. Life is in the habit of springing surprises at us. Too late in life I refused to be

surprised by these une(pected turns, to take the challenges of change with astraight face. inally, I have learnt that I will only live once, so I should make the

most of life)s lessons. I may have learnt these lessons late, but as they say, :etter late than never;