I have had a personal email account for at least 15 years, and I have received some of everything. Among my least favorite messages are chain letters. You know the ones -- the post that hysterically hypes some piece of misinformation, or the letter that offers some generic good wish or a prayer but then threateningly warns that you must forward the letter to 60 friends within the next five minutes or SOMETHING TERRIBLE WILL HAPPEN.
I've always hated threatening chain letters, so most of my friends know that if they really are invested in continuing the chain, I'm not the one to do it.
I've also been a barrier in forwarding messages of alarm about computer viruses, political
misinformation and other urban legends. The journalist in me likes to check things out before I pass them along. I've found the website http://snopes.com/ to be an invaluable source for debunking false rumors, and, on occasion, verifying important information. I've hipped a lot of friends to this site, and not only have I received their gratitude, but I've also cut down on the amount of junk that finds its way to my inbox.
Now, I'm not so jaded as to dismiss every uplifting thought or smile that comes my way. And I appreciate that people think enough of me to pass along wisdom they think I can use. And so it was this morning when a good friend passed along a message entitled "Good Karma." The email listed 19 so-called "instructions for life" that supposedly came from the Dalai Lama as part of his Message for 2008. I liked their simplicity and wanted to post them on this blog.
The journalist in me immediately reared up her head and demanded I find specific attribution, so that I could tell where these things were said, and in what context. So my first stop was "Snopes," and sure enough, it had the exact email I had received.
Except the "instructions" really DIDN'T come from the Dalai Lama, and in fact, they are a very abbreviated version of a thin volume called "Life's Little Instruction Book," originally published back in 1991 by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Here's the complete article from Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/dalai.asp
Well. This search had taken me into some unexpected territory. At the end of the morning, I was disappointed, feeling more than a little foolish and ready to abandon the Good Karma list. But it occurred to me: does the source of the instruction list make it resonate any less for me? Does the list offer wisdom, one way or another?
So I decided to stop looking this perfect gift horse in the mouth. And without further ado, here are the 19 Instructions for Life for 2008. I hope they bring Good Karma to you.
(PS: #19 should have been my clue that maybe the Dalai Lama was not the author!)
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 R's:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others and
- 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 that you know how to break them properly.
6) Do not let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
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, honorable 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 one, deal only with the present situation. Don't bring up the past.
14) Share your knowledge. It is 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.
19) Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
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