Denise's Rules for Saving Your Own Life

Every year on my birthday my mother asked "What have you learned in the past year that you wish you'd known earlier?"  It was always an interesting question: thinking about it; hunting around for "the big one", that wonderful piece of wisdom that would have made life so much easier if only you'd known sooner. 

She always claimed that life taught you the rules to live by, but I wasn't really paying attention!

I once drew up a list called "Everything worth knowing about life, I learned from my rottweiller!" until I realised my dog wasn't happy being a self-centered, self-serving sociopath and really just wanted to be loved, so I had to throw out glorious pieces of wisdom like "Anyone can be intimidated into submission with a long angry glare and a low growl!" although that served me very well indeed in my years as a high school teacher.

Anyway, I've been thinking about this a lot lately - what have I learned in my life - and decided to put together a list of what I know now that I wish I'd always known: a list of rules to live by based on my own life experiences, so ...

DENISE'S RULES FOR SAVING YOUR OWN LIFE!

c. 2010

Rule 1: Never ever panic.  Panic stops you thinking and you can come up with the solution to every problem as long as you stay calm and focused.

Rule 2: Be open to all the magic the world wants to give you.

Rule 3:  Stay away from emotionally unavailable men.

Rule 4:  People always tell you the truth about themselves even when they are joking or lying.

Rule 5:  The second time you meet someone, they tell you a story that contains all you need to know about them.  Listen out for it and take it on board because it is a vivid insight into your future relationship. 

Rule 6:  How someone treats others is a time machine into the future.  Take note because then you know how you yourself will one day be treated.

Rule 7:  You are not some fairytale princess who cures anyone of what ails them. No one changes. Everyone is who they are and, after a brief honeymoon period, will revert to being that person.

Rule 6: Choose for your closest friends folks who are borderline Aspergics.  They alone have no negative or base emotions nor a hidden agenda.  With them for friends, you get nothing but friendship ... and an immediate source of solid information because they are always experts in their chosen fields.

Rule 7:  There's no such thing as a trivial act. How folks behave with the little things is how they'll also behave with the big ones!

Rule 8:  The film world is full of folk who are talented, clever and passionate about making great films, only don't ever expect to meet anyone like this.  You'll only ever come across the charlatans.

Rule 9:  Don't ever allow yourself to feel hope.  It only stops you from facing up to the truth. There's a reason why it was trapped in Pandora's Box with all the other evils in the world.

Rule 10:  Like Blanch Dubois said, you can always rely on the kindness of strangers.


It was originally twenty rules, but that's all for now.  More tomorrow.