Sunday Scribblings #26 - Instructions

Instructions. That is the topic of the week from Sunday Scribblings. Yet, they failed to give us any further instructions on it.

It is tempting to write something satirical, perhaps rehashing the Hashi instructions, or else bemoaning the instructions that accompany ready-to-assemble toys and furniture (often written in English with severe grammatical errors.) I am also tempted to write a short piece concerning "Instructions for Mankind", replete with wise proverbs and suggestions that could be applied to everyday life.

Instead, I think I will write about the instructions we are given beginning at birth - which you might think is none at all.

The person you are today, the person who sits here reading this post, was molded over a lifetime of instructions that were, often, unheard and unreadable. These lessons were imparted to you over time, from the moment of your birth, via your parent/s and teachers, peers, the media, your chosen religion (or lack of religion), and events.

Many people fail in life because they choose not to learn from past mistakes. Others fail because they feel they need to forge ahead without using any instructions at all. Some choose to take self-defeating instructions to heart. Some people do well until a negative event mars them, and they spend days, weeks - or even their entire life - with this event embracing their every thought, to the point where they will fall aside on the road to life if they do not get help from a qualified therapist.

Our ability to utilize the lessons we learn in life depends greatly upon our mind set and approach to it. There is a Taoist thought process concerning the inability to change the actual bad 'happening'. Let's say you have a favorite tea cup, and it crashes to the floor and breaks. You can cry out, rant, and scream curses because the cup is broken, but that will not change the event that happened. A Taoist approach would be to accept that the cup is broken, allow yourself to grieve for the loss, and then sweep up the shards and go about your day. You will always miss that cup, but its loss should not destroy your own happiness. Only you can control your feelings of happiness, after all. (A further expansion of this thinking is: no one can insult you without your permission!) A Christian mind set might accept that it is God's will that the cup broke, and the lesson learned might be "Don't put so much desire into the material, which is fleeting."

As we move about through life, we should always keep our eyes (and minds) open to new learning experiences, for these will be the instructions needed for later events. A bad experience is only bad because of the way we perceive it. For instance, if as a toddler we burn our finger by touching a hot cup, we will store this bit of instruction for the rest of our lives... in the future, we will not just stick our hand into hot liquid or grab a hot item. Rather then dwell on the actual moment of the burn, we will remember that hot is hot. The instruction is imprinted in our minds. As our world expands around us, we will encounter even more negative stimulus. We can either learn from our own experiences, or the experiences of others (such as reading about a drunk driver killing a family, and vowing never to drive drunk ourselves.)

Today, as you go about your normal routines, keep your eyes sharp for the ways in which your life provides instruction. They may be written or verbal, such as those given by a teacher or employer (these are instructions for the betterment of a project or lesson.) They might come from a friend or family member (advice.) But, most usually, they will come from events that befall us all. Combine those events with a keen mind, and you will find yourself able to overcome all situations, striving forward as you convert the lessons learned into instructions for the future.


But, for those of you who need instructions for just about everything, I offer this fantastic website:
eHow.com - Clear Instructions on How To Do (just about) Everything

PS: once again, picture uploads are not working on Blogspot.