Day 44 (Ten things everybody ought to know)…

…is a goodie but oldie. Here’s a re-make of ten commandments that make good BTL principles.

1. Don’t have other gods. Choose your master wisely, or you’ll be enslaved. Hard labor you will disdain as you tire, OPUS you will sustain as you tire. Make your big why about something bigger than yourself. Those who choose to be their own god get exactly the master they deserve, and live in a wilderness of their own making — there’s a way that seems right to a Rue, but in the end it leads to rue-in.
2. Don’t have i-Dols. Idols promise joy, peace, freedom, life, love — and deliver the opposite. According to John and Julie Gottman, marital masters average 7 good minutes of quality conversation per day. According to my i-Phone, I average four hours of screen time per day — what’s up with that?
3. Don’t make false oaths. This isn’t about cussing. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
4. Remember the sabbath. Sabbath means rest. Radical at the time, it meant taking a day off and trusting you’d be provided for in an age where everybody else worked 7 days/week. If your load is too hard or too heavy, either you’re carrying something you weren’t designed to carry, or you’re trying to carrying something you were under your own power. Rest-lessness is often a pride problem.
5. Honor your father and mother. This isn’t about them — it’s about you. This one comes with a promise, that it will go well with you — it’s part of mental health 101. Even if you can’t trust them, honor their role, even if they’ve abandoned it.
6. Don’t murder. Most murders happen in our hearts, thoughts, and assassinating words around the water cooler. Better to kill your enemies with kindness.
7. Don’t commit adultery. Most adultery happens when our hearts, thoughts and fantasies go unchecked. Nip them in the bud.
8. Don’t steal. Subtle, often, this one. Few would ever steal or receive stolen credit cards, but many will steal or receive stolen credit.
9. Don’t slander your neighbor. Nip this in the bud, too. And don’t aid and abet slanderers — instead of receiving stolen gossip, challenge with “how did the person you’re talking about respond when you told them what you just told me?”
10. Don’t covet. Unless you want to be as perpetually ungrateful as a toddler, build your own strong core, and practice self-control. Practice thankfulness for what you have, and then dream & do for what you want. And beware lest what you covet become your next idol.

These are 10 BTL principles to live by. What are yours? What MOTs and integrity gaps are you seeing? What PAs will you choose? Write. Done so.

Embrace it. Live it. Love it (Thanks, Toto)…