Life Lesson Poems - Page 3

Have you ever fought an ego?
It's a pretty tough thing to beat
It has no face, no head, no heart
It has no hands or feet

You cannot see it with your eyes
No matter how long you stare
And though you cannot touch it
It will let you know it's there

An ego will fight dirty
An ego does not care
It will kick and stomp and bite you
But it's invisible, so beware!

An ego's really ugly
Although it has no face
It lives and breathes and haunts you
From its own time and space

The only way to defeat it
Is to leave its ugly home
And this, my friends, is what is made
Of flesh and blood and bone

Turn your back and walk away
Don't sing its ugly song
It's going to take all of your might
Before it's really gone

The only way to kill it
(It's hard, but you must try)
Is to open your mouth, take a deep breath
And firmly say, "Good-bye!"

The best day of my life,
When will it be?
When I score top grades,
Or get a meal free?

Or gain great respect
Or buy a beautiful mansion,
Or travel the world
Or live sans tension?

If I pause my assumptions
To give it a thought,
That day of my life
Is not one in the lot.

Yes, my best day
Will not be of my success,
But the day I overcome
My failure distress.

The day I treat me well,
The day I respect me,
The day I impress me,
The day I feel free.

The day I am determined,
The day I stand confident,
The day I feel proud of me,
The day I am ardent.

The day when I love me,
The day when I stop strife.
That will surely be
The best day of my life.

We are never finished products,
No matter how long we live.
There's always something we can add,
Like learning to forgive.

It isn't all that easy
To release a long held grudge.
For years it's been a part of us.
It doesn't want to budge.

I often wonder if that is why
Some of us live so long
In what seems needless suffering.
Is there still need to right a wrong?

Perhaps we're given extra time
To clear our hearts and mind
Of many thoughts so negative
That peace is hard to find.

Forgiving past offenders
For the harm they did to you
Opens up a channel that
Will let His love come through.

Like a butterfly lies dormant,
Awaiting to expand,
So waits love's own perfection
In the chrysalis of man.

Love is like a bicycle
Left out in the storm
If it's not protected
Rust begins to form

So unless you want your bicycle
To slowly rust away,
Provide a little kindness
When the sky begins to grey.

If you're tired of doing nothing
Rubbing your eyes until they're red
Getting bored and feeling blank
With no thoughts in your head

Wondering what to do
Staring at nowhere
Scribbling on some sheet
Sitting on the chair

Get up and do a twirl
And dance upon your feet
Greet yourself in the mirror
Or give yourself a treat

Listen to your favorite music
Cook, sing, or play
Do what you love to
Just enjoy your day

Relish the sweet silence
Let the wind blow across your face
Shower a bunch of flowers
In nature, you'll find solace

Every second counts
There is no time to waste
Make best use of all of it
For it can't be replaced

Travel, trek and hike
Get wet in the pitter patter
Smile your way, wherever you go
As all those memories matter

Life is full of moments
Moments of love and laughter
What matters is to make them special
That you'll remember after

Appreciate all experiences
Your goals you will achieve
Make each day worth it
You must live before you leave

Never trust a white man,
Never kill a Jew,
Never sign a contract,
Never rent a pew.
Don't enlist in armies;
Nor marry many wives;
Never write for magazines;
Never scratch your hives.
Always put paper on the seat,
Don't believe in wars,
Keep yourself both clean and neat,
Never marry whores.
Never pay a blackmailer,
Never go to law,
Never trust a publisher,
Or you'll sleep on straw.
All your friends will leave you
All your friends will die
So lead a clean and wholesome life
And join them in the sky.

Sometimes your best isn't enough
And happiness comes after sorrow
Life isn't always going to be rough
Yet, I can't speak for tomorrow

Love doesn't come for free
And hard work is sometimes fatal
Forgiveness isn't always easy
And wars can be mental

We know living can be stressful
And it's hard to see the blessings
In all things, try to be thankful
And try and find a silver lining

When pain is persistent
And the hurt seems too heavy
Remember you are resilient
And this is temporary

Walk where you have never been
and wonder at the beauty of this world.

Wish for the best, but work,
and for its own reward.

Give more than you receive
and share of it.

Be moderate in all things,
except goodness.

Wait your turn
and, on occasion, give it away.

Learn, if just to know,
grow wise.

Dream often,
and find a way to live your fondest.

Do all you can
never to hurt another.

Help someone daily;
it will heal your hurt as well.

Find something you enjoy;
it takes but one to make you happy.

Read,
for a book can change your life.

Write your own story,
you may change another's world.

Restore something old
and treasure it.

Reward freely,
repay always.

The greatest dignity is in the respect
given to one who is humble.

Obey and serve,
when it is due.

Always do what is right,
but do so ever with kindness.

Be confident in yourself
and humble before all others.

Befriend those who need,
for they can be the truest.

Love wholly and long
one who is worthy.

Give and receive love fully,
for that is the breath of life.

Be kind to all who will accept it,
and be fair to all others.

Beware that some are not good
and avoid, but never fear them.

Believe in something better,
and live to make it true.

Dig in good earth;
sow new life.

Reap with pride;
cook for pleasure.

Live fully within each moment you have,
for time will not return the chance.

Laugh out loud,
listen always.

Know the taste of longing
and the joy of play.

Listen to the music
you can find in silence.

Sing for the joy of it,
dance for its freedom.

Pray, even when it hard to believe,
for man was not meant to be alone.

Save for tomorrow,
each day.

Share from your heart
and with your hands.

Forgive as you can,
for we are all only human.

Accept what you cannot change,
remember warmly and wisely.

Stand for something that matters,
treasure memories most of all.

Trust when you can,
but doubt when you ought.

Know that despite it all,
life is good.

these stories we wear –

scars,
stretchmarks,
wrinkles,

are wrongly labelled
as imperfections.

but aren’t they such beautiful,
courageous signs
of how we have lived?

When I was young and insecure,
And desperate to be liked.
I tended to withdraw in pain
And flee instead of fight.

All I wanted was to get along.
Conflict was not my style.
So despite what people did to me,
I took it with a smile.

So whenever someone hurt me,
I'd stuff those feelings deep inside.
Forgive but not forget it,
Just take it all in stride.

But anger tends to fester.
It's not so easy to control.
Just like a dormant bomb that's lit,
One day it will explode.

I've suffered many sad regrets.
I've felt my share of shame
For releasing all my pent-up ire
On the ones who weren't to blame.

So I would not advise this practice
Now that I've grown old and wise.
I've learned a great deal in my time,
And there's some truths I realized.

In life you must be tolerant,
But you also must be strong.
You don't have to be a doormat
When someone does you wrong.

You must carefully pick your battles,
Knowing when to let things go.
Don't seek revenge or try to hurt,
For what you reap you'll sow.

Don't back down but don't attack,
Hold your tongue but speak your mind.
You can defend yourself and others,
And still manage to be kind.

It's important that you love yourself.
This is the love that must come first.
If you can't see how grand you are,
Then no one else will see your worth.

A good rule of thumb to follow,
Show the world by what you do -
That you will gladly give respect
But will expect the same for you!

I've lived quite a while and learned quite a bit
About life and this world where we live.
I've found that it's filled with both good and the bad.
Some who take, while some others will give.

There's a balance to life in the way it unfolds.
That's a truth that we all come to know.
They'll be times we endure some unbearable days
And sleepless nights filled with anger and woe.   

Then come those moments of utter contentment,
When it all seems to fall into place,
When all that you are seems so right with the world,
You feel all of your pain's been erased.

We spend so much time on a quest for ourselves,
Searching for that internal peace.
And on each of our paths we may misstep and fall,
But our need for the answers won't cease.

We're composed and we're driven by our hearts and souls.
Our beliefs grow from what we've been taught.
Our dreams are all nurtured by the things that we see,
And our morals from the fights we have fought.

We all look so different; we all have our ways,
And at times we just can't understand
That inside we're no different, our humanities the same,
And we all do the best that we can.

Feelings of sadness, grief, joy, and pain,
Feeling lonely and empty and scared.
We each have these feelings, no matter our lives,
And we all yearn for someone to care.

It's that not understanding each other
Fosters the feelings of hate,
So we must take the time to learn all that we can,
While forgiving each other's mistakes.

Yes, I've learned quite a lot in my 63 years,
And to look well beyond what I see
To embrace and respect everyone as they are,
And hope that they'll do that for me.

The world won't stop spinning, and the sun will still rise.
There will always be conflict and strife,
But accepting we're all only human
Will make this a much better life.

You are not defined
by the way other people
see you
treat you
love you

You are defined
by the way you
see yourself
treat yourself
love yourself

Others will do unto you
as you teach them how to;
teach them well

It's sometimes hard to see
How close a virtue and vice can be,
Yet the borderline of the two
Should we respect in all we do.

Being frank without a little tact
Can turn to rudeness after the fact.
Being brave may be a step away
From foolhardiness any given day.

When suspicion becomes routine
Paranoia is sure to settle in.
And when making humility a show
Pride readily begins to grow.

Where gentleness lacks a bit of nerve
Weakness is what others observe.
And where self-confidence is found
Arrogance often lurks around.

It's a borderline hard to tread
And plunges tend to lie ahead,
But it's by heeding moderation's call
That we can safely avoid a fall.

Wonder what it's like to be scared every day,
Knowing war and destruction are on the way?
Not able to run and play in the park,
Never camp out in the yard after dark.

A lot of children in far off places,
That look of fear etched onto their faces.
They don't have the freedom to make a choice.
Their stature is small and so is their voice.

Through the eyes of children, if we could see
How they view the world and how it should be.
Maybe if we lend an ear to them now,
We could make changes - they'd show us how.

Their innocence is wisdom; their honesty real,
No prejudice in them, true humanity they feel.
The lessons we'd learn would be like no others.
Imagine a world of sisters and brothers.

Jealousy is such an ugly beast,
Consuming in a ruthless feast,
Every thought of rational notions
Or capacity for gentler emotions,
Filling the heart with resentment
That denies it any contentment.

Jealousy born from inane fictions,
Rains down its cruel maledictions
On the victim of its ravenous rage.
It tries the skills of the wisest sage
To end jealousy's condemnation,
Saving its author from damnation.

The jealous person's egoistic infection
Is a fear of losing another's affection.
Their mind is consumed with emotion,
Demanding they have total devotion.
A jealous heart is a foe that conspires
Against the very one it deeply desires.

The jealous heart can turn to hate,
Authoring its own indignant fate.
For jealousy finds it hard to bear
The joy and love others can share.
So, a jealous heart will foolishly steal
Away all the love that it longs to feel.

I realize I've reached the time
When it's very plain to see
That I now must be selective
In what my preferences will be.
No longer can I toss a coin
To see which direction I should go.
As far as speed in getting there,
Only one would fit, and that is SLOW.
It's wise to have a goal each day,
There is no doubt about it.
A reason to rise each morning.
No one should be without it.
Still, if I decide to dilly-dally
Throughout the passing day,
A bit of procrastination
Is bound to come my way.
I can read with great delight
Great books that I've forgotten,
And if I chose, I now can read
The ones that were verboten.
I do not waste my energy
On things that can't be changed.
If I spent time on past mistakes,
I soon would be deranged.
Life has much to offer
To each and everyone.
I hope to conquer many things
Before my time is done.
When I've fulfilled my challenges,
And hopefully passed each test,
Then I will wave a fond good goodbye,
Content I've done my best.