Twelve tenets

The artist Joven Ignacio, quiet throughout the holidays no doubt absorbed with his canvases, sent me an email the other day on the “12 Tenets of Conscious Living” by Anthony Robbins. These may just be food for thought, but “one of them might just change your life forever.” I thought it would be a good way to start the year.

Live a life of service. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. – Mahatma Gandhi

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We need lots of love to forgive, but we need much more humility to ask for forgiveness. – Mother Theresa

Be kind. Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be remarkable. Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you’ll land among the stars. – Les Brown

Seek unity. Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. – Mahatma Gandhi

Strive for wisdom. Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. – Immanuel Kant

Be grateful. When you are grateful, fears disappear and abundance appears. – Tony Robbins

Think critically. The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. – Albert Einstein

Be brave. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Be humble. Do you wish people to think well of you? Don’t speak well of yourself. – Blaise Pascal

Be creative. A creative person is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. – Ayn Rand

Be present. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. – Anne Frank

Each new year demands change, and indeed, putting even just one or two – or three – of these ideas into practice for the next 360 days could make 2008 the year we really begin to improve the world.