who am I kidding, I love saccharine tripe.

When I threw away a stack of letters from the past 32 years recently I came across one thing I kept. Don't ask me why. Well, fine, ask me why.

It's because it rang so true and hit me so deeply and I loved it so very much.

It's from my mother, of course. She is the queen of the Mom Gifts, and sometimes, they are absolutely perfect. It is a photocopy from one of the '70s style, self-help, actualize your life in 62 easy steps manuals she's always been so fond of.

Enjoy.

Life is for learning

You were born to live life to the fullest and to grow from each of your experiences. With each new situation you encounter, first ask yourself, "What did I learn? Am I a wiser and more compassionate person because of what I experienced?" Through your struggle to answer this question, you will slowly grow in knowledge and wisdom.

Often pain will be your greatest teacher. While comfort puts us to sleep (when things are going our way, we rarely ask "what am I learning from this situation?"), discomfort forces us to question our assumptions and consider new ways of looking at life.

Second, ask yourself, "How much did I love?" Those who have gone through the near-death experience report that at the moment of death, they focused on the love or lack of it in their lives. Material achievements, on the other hand, paled in significance. Nobody ever said at that critical moment, "I regret that I didn't spend more time at the office."

Thus, your most important teachings will involve matters of the heart. If life is for learning, all of your experiences can be reduced to a single lesson--the lesson of learning to LOVE.