Advice For Your (Imaginary) Great-Grandchildren
— To Yourself, Actually
Tak C. Poon, MD
(Image generated by ChatGPT. None of the text is.)
I make it a healing habit to come up with great wisdom advice to give my imaginary great-grandchildren. I don’t have any GGkids and likely won’t see any in my lifetime. Probably nobody listens to my advice anyway. Still, in doing the exercise periodically, I reflect and teach myself.
My advice evolves and changes over time as I get older and after making more mistakes. That’s a good thing. Here’s my latest version.
My Dear Great-Grandchildren,
I won’t tell you about love. That comes from the heart and lives in experience, not advice.
Don’t just listen to my advice or anybody else’s.
The world is changing so fast that I can hardly keep up and know what to do myself. So, any specific advice I give you today may not be relevant in your time.
I hope these general principles will still be applicable in your circumstances:
Perceptiveness, adaptability, kindness, and diligence are life enhancers.
Keep these wide open: eyes to see with wonder, mind to learn without fatigue, heart to give without reservation, and actions to serve with joy.
“You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.” ― Walt Whitman, Song of Myself, 1855.
Your “Great-Grampa”
(Frankly, this is more to myself than to you.)
Next time you’re waiting in line for something or taking a long walk, consider trying this mental exercise for yourself.
I earnestly welcome the advice you come up with in this healing habit. Please send it to me via the Comment bar below. I love to post a collection of such wisdom with proper credit to you.
Extraordinary Living by Ordinary Means 2024