47 life lessons I have learned

As I approach the date that marks my 77th year as a wayfaring stranger on this planet, I look back on valuable life lessons I have learned, some of them with pain and suffering. Today, I am sharing some of these lessons.

Most of the following axioms are mine. Some I overheard in a coffee shop or bar or hunting camp. A few are probably plagiarized, but since I cannot remember the source I am labeling them “in the public domain.”

So, here are 47 wisdoms, in no particular order, that I have learned in the course of my life. Profit from these as you will.

1. Stupidity is the most powerful force in the world. Never underestimate it.
2. The weapons used by the world’s most dangerous thieves and robbers are a fine-print document and a ballpoint pen.
3. To understand any decision or action by a person in a position of authority, examine these four motivations: money, power, ego, sex.
4. There are more than 600 organized religions in the world, and every one of them is a scam to acquire wealth, power, and status. But the beliefs and tenets of their followers and their creation myths are hilariously entertaining.
5. Everyone wants to protect the Earth’s endangered environments, but everyone also wants a bigger house.
6. Medical science has not extended a healthy and active lifespan, it has extended old age.
7. Wear good quality wool-blend socks.
8. Financial debt in a capitalist economic system is slavery and bondage.
9. Consumer debt is a fungus that rots your family, home, serenity, sanity, and eventually your soul.
10. Buying something shiny and new will make you euphorically happy for 37 minutes.
11. Peace and quiet are among the most precious things that industrial society has destroyed.
12. The purpose of a national police force or army in peacetime is to suppress individual freedoms and keep evil people in power.
13. Look up at the stars every chance you get.
14. If you plan to go through life as a one-trick pony, it better be a really good trick.
15. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
16. Every forest has its grizzly bear.
17. A one-eyed man is a prophet in the land of the blind.
18. Contentment is not having what you want but wanting what you have.
19. An ape in a $500 suit is still an ape.
20. Get it in writing.
21. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
22. A corporation has no ethic and only one purpose: to make money for its investors.
23. The most adamant Christians are not.
24. Pay cash. Tip generously.
25. Bargains seldom are.
26. Gardening is probably the most beneficial thing you will do in your life.
27. Do not make important decisions when you are tired, hungry, angry, or confused.
28. Every medication has at least one side effect.
29. Do the work you like the most, not the work that pays the most.
30. Physical beauty is not a virtue.
31. Most of the great things in life happen at the wrong time, and the rest don’t happen at all.
32. Dream big and pursue your dreams, but set realistic goals.
33. Take your time and do it right the first time.
34. There are some valuable things in life you must never, never, never surrender.
35. Courage is not fearlessness. Courage is overcoming fear to do the right thing.
36. You will learn more from failure than from success.
37. Learn that all life comes from the sun, water, soil, and air.
38. Speak truth to power.
39. All actions have unexpected results.
40. Tell her you love her. Tell him you love him.
41. When your children are young, hold them every chance you get.
42. Time does not heal all wounds. There are some hurts that never end.
43. We are all in this boat together. Everybody has to row, and everybody gets to share the beer.
44. Solitude regenerates your soul.
45. Be gracious in defeat. Be even more gracious in victory.
46. Your children will learn more from what you do than from what you say.
47. You will have only a few at-bats in this life; try to hit the ball as hard as you can every damned time.