What lesson have you learned that has changed your life?
138640
A sermon i gave this last Yom Kippur:::\n\nI learned the hard way that Ecclesiastes is Right!\nLet me explain.\n\nMost people wrongly believe that the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes is a downer, a cynical, depressing book, and i have never never felt that way! I always thought that the book was one of the most uplifting books of the Bible, and i guess i need to explain that, as well, first.\n\nThe Book of Ecclesiastes is known for verses like, \n\n'to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heavens, a time to be born and a time to die...' and:\n\n'there is nothing new under the sun.'  and:\n\n'vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' (horrible translation!)  and:\n\n'the sun also rises.'\n\nThe basic idea to Ecclesiastes is quite simply put, 'a hundred years from now, no one will know the difference.' And most people stop trying to understand the book after this. But they miss the point when they stop! The best way to say this is, 'a hundred years from now, no one will know the difference, AND SO WHAT??' \n\nIn other words, yes, its true, a hundred years from now, no one will know the difference, and so the successes you have now in your life, you must do for your sake, because they are meaningful to You, because they give your life meaning, and not because they will make any difference down the road. \n\nMy wife died 4 and half years ago. She was bright and funny, and clever, and raised two young daughters as best she could from the depth of all her illnesses. And a hundred years from now, no one will know it, but so what? She did it because it gave her pleasure and pride to see her daughters, my children, OUR kids, grow up, full of life and love and self-assured. It gave her life, no matter how short, meaning, and that is the only person it had to be meaningful to, not those who will live in 100 years. \n\nMy brother died almost two years ago. He started the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yes, that M.I.T. at the age of 15! He was brilliant and he had a deep-seated passion for Justice, and he worked for Justice until he got sick. A hundred years from now, no one will know or care that he was brilliant and passionate, and so what? He did what he did because HE felt it to be important, because that is what gave his life meaning, and that is all, in the scheme of things, that mattered!\n\nMy mom now has lost her memories. She at one time, ran 5 businesses, got Broadway shows to come through Springfield Missouri, raised three sons, appeared on stage with actors now gone, too, and if a hundred years from now no one will know the difference, then so what? She did what was meaningful to her, and that is what is important. \n\nSo long as we remain within the boundaries of right, and what is just, and fair, in accordance with what Gd wants from us, we are free to make our lives as meaningful as we can. That is why i love the book of Ecclesiastes, because it frees us to make our own lives as meaningful as we can, in whatever ways we want, so long as we stay within the boudaries that Gd has set up for us. And that can be scary, because it means it is up to us, and us alone, even as we are free to do whatever we want as we live out our very short life on this earth! Life has no meaning whatsoever outside of whatever meaning WE put into it. It is therefore up to us, and only up to us, alone, to make our lives meaningful to ourselves, and there is, in the final analysis, no one else to blame but ourselves, if we dont put 60 seconds of life into each minute we live!\n\nThat is what i knew a long time ago, when i first read Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Scriptures, but that is what i Realized with so many recent losses in my life. \n\nLife is what we make of it, and if 100 years from now, no one else knows the difference, SO WHAT, WE know the difference, so does Gd, and in the end, that is all who need to know.\n\n                Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 7 Go thy way, eat
475187
exercising daily, meditating, helping someone unknown..anything really depending on what type of change you are looking for..
588686
Why, what have you done, and when did you do it?
875449
I regret that I had too trusting of a soul and too soft of a heart when I decided to take 41,000 dollars that fell into my lap (a lucky employee buyout stock break!) and used it to help coworkers and friends with their debts and bad luck. I even helped one lady with a down payment on a new house.\nNobody paid one damned dime back to me, and now that we've all been laid off.... I'm stuck paying the thousands of dollars in penalties back to the IRS all on my own. \nI regret the day I decided to touch that money instead of pretending it wasn't there and just let it grow for my retirement. \nGGGRRRRRRRR!!!! NEVER again!!
1079527
Don't try to erase your memory! Everything that has happened to you teaches you something!
260887
yes, I hope you have learned your lesson.
1016993
When my kids were born!  Having children completely changes your life, it also inspired me to be a better person, because now I am not only responsible for myself, but for two precious lives.
50241
Life experiences have taught you to trust no one but yourself.
1009122
The best lesson we can learn is the immutable law most aptly set down by George Santayana:  "Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it."\nEspecially those who quack out the same old tired slogans about how religion can solve all of our problems...
1172847
I was told to remember one word from one of my high school teachers that has stuck with me and has influenced my entire life and has paid dividends, not only monetary, but experience as well.  That word was "Education".  Learn as much as you can about as much as you can.  It has made me a very versatile person in my career and my life in general.
467340
People, just like you and me. We all change the world.  It could be a simple smile given to a lonely person, or a crazy thing we say to someone on Yahoo.  Something can strike a chord that makes the difference.  \n\nIn your life who has made the difference to you?  Follow their lead.
205269
Read "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olsen.  It will change your life.
1173292
yep real good life lesson cross your bridges don't burn them!!
1151386
Each women is different, you life will teach you the lessons to be the women you will become
312416
to what are you changing?
936717
Getting married changed my life. Now I have someone who loves me when before I was lonely and sad. I can deal with people on a much higher level than I could before because living with another person makes you more aware of how other people think. I'd like to pass on how to love to my children.
236829
54 years and still learning something new everyday