DAY 80 - THIS IS MY LIFE, AND THESE ARE MY RULES

I’ve never been too much into rules. Oh sure, when I’m playing a card game, I usually follow them (in fact, I usually read them and refer to them.) And our whole country is set up with rules – aka Laws – and I follow those. And I respect those households that request for you to take your shoes off at the door, etc.

   But at my house, I really don’t have Rules. I truly don’t care if people put their feet on the coffee table (something strictly forbidden when I was a kid). Eating in bed is fine (but probably not chocolate, see Day 29). No curfews. No “you have to do this” or “you can’t do that”. Come on over, run amuck – I really don’t mind.

   And I try to be a law abiding citizen. I do get out and vote. I don’t murder or steal. OK, the four times I’ve been pulled over in the past 4 months are a significant indication that I’m not so great at “Rules of the Road” – but I am working on that one.

   This evening I attended the Utah Valley Writers meeting. It’s the League of Utah Writers (LUW) here in Provo/Orem – or at least it was until tonight. Apparently the parent-organization, LUW, hasn’t been following their own rules – so the Utah Valley group voted to secede. There was a lot of discussion and debate, but basically it boiled down to the fact that if the LUW wasn’t going to do what they said they would then we wouldn’t continue to belong to (and fund) them. So, as of this evening, we are an entity unto ourselves. That’s what happens when you break the rules.

   And it got me thinking about Rules, and why we have them, and what rules I have in my life. I like rules. Like when playing a game, you kind of need to have rules – it’s how you keep things fair. And although life isn’t always fair, cheating is always wrong.

   So although I don’t have rules at my house, I do have rules in my life. And I realized that as I approach the end of this 83-day Journey in a few days, that these blogposts have defined my Personal Rules – so decided to formalize them and write them down:

• First, be in love with yourself
• Gratitude is a healing balm
• Everyone you meet can teach you something
• Love is Unconditional and Forever
• Dance in the rain
• There is a lesson in every day
• Let go of things that no longer contribute to your life
• Change happens – whether you want it to or not
• I can do anything I set my mind to
• Inspiration is all around, you just need to look for it
• God sends His blessings through those around us
• Practice really does make perfect
• Never fall asleep eating chocolate
• If you build it (or write it), they will come
• Unlike when I was a child, I have learned to no longer hate naps (or spankings)
• Always have a backup plan
• You don’t need an excuse to do something with (or for) a friend
• Every little girl should see her dad as a hero
• Strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet
• It’s not about the destination – it’s about the journey
• Everyone wants to feel wanted
• As much as it hurts, it truly is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all
• This life is part of a Masterful Plan
• Puppies give love unconditionally – so should we
• Do something today that will make tomorrow better
• We all have a story to tell
• Sometimes life isn’t fair
• Share your talents – that’s why God gave them to you
• Every lady loves a gentleman
• Chocolate makes everything better

   So maybe they’re not so much Rules as they are Lessons Learned. At the end of each day, I read my scriptures, say my prayers, and reflect on the day to count the abundance of blessings I have been granted. That’s my rule for ending every single day.

   And the best thing about rules, is that you get to write your own rules for your own life.