Maxims of Life and A Blessing

By Donald J. Richardson

Everyone needs reminders of how to behave. This doesn’t mean children only. We all need to be reminded how to act like mature, responsible people. Most of us resist these reminders, but to do so is to risk developing a personality which excludes others and which lowers our self-esteem.

I offer these maxims in humility, confessing that I am not an avatar of perfection; I’m merely offering suggestions which may help you to grow and mature.

A Blessing illustrates several of the Maxims: twenty, twenty-six, twenty-seven, thirty-seven, forty, forty-three, fifty-one, fifty-eight, seventy-one, seventy-seven, seventy-nine, and eighty-three..

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823017619

Donald J. Richardson

Although he has long been eligible to retire, Donald J. Richardson continues to (try to) teach English Composition at Phoenix College in Arizona. He defines his life through his teaching, his singing, his volunteering, and his grandchildren.

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© 2024 Donald J. Richardson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/18/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1762-6 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1761-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023921671

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

1.     Find Work That Is Engaging, Challenging, and Rewarding

2.     You Are What You Do, and You Are What You Wear

3.     Commit Yourself to a Purpose

4.     Pay Your Bills When They Are Due

5.     Try to ForgetWhat People Owe You

6.     Read, Study, Educate Yourself

7.     Challenge Yourself

8.     Never Kill Time

9.     Carpe Diem

10.   Don’t Wear Shorts in Public

11.   Tuck Your Shirt in

12.   Do Not Smoke, Chew Gum, Use Your Cell Phone, or Text in Public

13.   Don’t Bet on the Come

14.   You Can’t Go Against Human Nature

15.   There Are No Free Lunches

16.   There Are No Panaceas

17.   Any Problem Can Be Solved if It Can Be Reduced to a Dilemma

18.   Don’t Ignore Romance

19.   Sing

20.   Play with Children

21.   No Baby Talk

22.   Take Time to Smell the Roses

23.   Indulge Yourself

24.   Laugh

25.   Maintain Your Dignity

26.   Live with Grace under Pressure

27.   Help Others; Be Philanthropic

28.   Recycle

29.   Accept Help from Others

30.   Practice Humility

31.   Respect Your Elders

32.   Lie Selectively

33.   Never Pursue Someone Who Is Leaving

34.   You Can’t Save Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Be Saved

35.   Never Issue an Ultimatum

36.   Never Go Hungry to a Banquet.

37.   Practice Inclusion

38.   Practice Delayed Gratification

39.   Pray or Meditate

40.   Give Thanks Every Day

41.   Turn Down the Volume

42.   Be the First to Apologize

43.   Look for Something Larger than Yourself

44.   Try Not to Measure Your Successes Financially

45.   You Are Not the Center of the World

46.   Cultivate Positivity

47.   Don’t Swear at Anyone

48.   Do Not Yell at Anyone

49.   Do Not Keep People Waiting

50.   Never Hate Anything

51.   Leave Something Behind When You Go; Plan for the Future

52.   Restrict Yourself to Important Matters

53.   Resist Boredom

54.   Be Moderate in Everything

55.   Practice Asceticism

56.   Omit Envy from Your Life

57.   Strive for Idealism

58.   Practice Selflessness

59.   Don’t Hurry to Retire

60.   Give Yourself (and Others) Some Alone Time

61.   Don’t Violate Your Body

62.   Be a Person of Your Word

63.   Stop Punishing Yourself

64.   Discriminate Between Prejudice and Discrimination

65.   Learn to Say No

66.   No Name Calling

67.   Don’t Sell Yourself Too Cheaply

68.   Never Correct Your Superior

69.   Never Admit Responsibility

70.   Take Responsibility for Your Actions

71.   Don’t Blame the Victims

72.   Associate with Strangers

73.   Friends Are Equals

74.   Don’t Extend Your Visit

75.   Be Don Quixote

76.   Own Your Neighborhood

77.   Give Love

78.   Respect Words

79.   Live Life with Purpose

80.   Practice Forgiveness

81.   Don’t Make Excuses

82.   Vote

83.   Fight for the Underdog

84.   Do Not Save Resentments

85.   Give up

Works Cited

Apology

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Maxims of Life from a COET*

*Crotchety, Old English Teacher

Don Richardson, Phoenix College

1.   Find Work That Is Engaging, Challenging, and Rewarding

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N ever settle for work that simply has to be done. Bring yourself to it with a commitment that makes the time pleasurable. There is no job that is beneath you. If it is your life work, try never to forget why you chose it. Linda Hogan has written, Our work is an altar. When you become jaded and can no longer enjoy the work, re tire.

2.   You Are What You Do, and You Are What You Wear

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N o matter how intelligent you are or how you regard yourself, you quickly become what you do; your life is made up of your habits, and your habits dictate who you are. In addition, people do take you for who you are which means your dress identifies you. Your dress, including tattoos, hair style, and jewelry defines you. If you’re a clown in the circus, dress as one; if you’re an executive, dress as one. If you regard yourself with dignity, sho w it.

3.   Commit Yourself to a Purpose

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S omeone has written, The way you do anything is the way you do everything. Live your life as if your mother were watching you every minute. Remember that you become what you do, so choose your activities carefully. Put your faith in something greater than your self.

4.   Pay Your Bills When They Are Due

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T here are certain obligations we incur just by being alive. Many of these are just courtesies: Please, thank you, and so on. Others are promises we make: I will pay this bill on the 15 th of every month; I will pick you up on time. Floss your teeth and brush regularly. Pay the two dollars. No matter what the cost, pay it when it’s due. If you defer it, you will pay even more later, and you’ll still have to pay.

5.   Try to ForgetWhat People Owe You

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W hen you become financially secure, try to ignore that people owe you money or anything else. If they re-pay you, so be it. If they don’t, you gain nothing by focusing on something you cannot change. Try to let i t go.

6.   Read, Study, Educate Yourself

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W hen he died in his 90s, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. left behind a list of books he wanted to read. You, too, need to continue to elevate yourself, and reading is one of the easiest and best means available. Justice Brandeis asserted that education was one of the five basic n eeds.

7.   Challenge Yourself

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D on’t settle for what you already know. Take classes you never heard of before; try something new. Never stop learning. Try sky-di ving.

8.   Never Kill Time

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A ll you have been given is time. Use it wisely; don’t squander it. Killing time is suicide in slow motion. Of course this means you can’t while away your life in a sports bar.

9.   Carpe Diem

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B e in the room now. Take advantage of the moment; if you can’t control your environment, change it. Certainly you have to wait for doctors’ appointments, but you don’t have to suffer through his or her outdated reading matter; take your own. Carry it with you wherever you go, and you’ll look forward to those free moments when you can re-connect with the author. Do not read in traffic except in a traffic jam or at a red l ight.

10.   Don’t Wear Shorts in Public

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M iss America contestants and small children are entitled to wear shorts and halters in public. The rest of us must observe the amenities. Remember your fellow conspirators’ feelings, and don’t go out dressed in such a way that would embarrass your mother. Yes, you may do your housework in the nude, but for mercy’s sake, cover it up before you go to the grocery store. There’s a reason most people don’t go naked, and that’s because nobody else wants to see.

11.   Tuck Your Shirt in

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D ress yourself as though it matters. Remember, your body is not an advertising medium. You should display advertising on your body only if you’re getting paid for it, and usually not even then. Your body deserves respect. Giv e it.

12.   Do Not Smoke, Chew Gum, Use Your Cell Phone, or Text in Public

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I f you must smoke, go to the designated smoking area; if you must chew gum, keep it in your mouth with your lips pressed together; if you must use your cell phone, do it at such a volume that other people are not forced to become aural voyeurs, and never use it in a restaurant or while driving an automobile; finally texting should be a private act no one else should have to