What I can teach you.

No, no, no this is far from self-indulgent and it's not me  stroking my ego.

 Seemingly the most beige of characters can teach us things. The tattered man nursing a paperbagged beer can teach us humility. Factually speaking, even non humans can teach us more humane characters than the ones we possess.  The family dog can school us about loyalty, right?  Ok. So don't go eye rolling because Angela says I can teach you something.

Your first lesson?  Stop thinking you can't be taught. Formal education may have ended years ago but learning has no end. I know that mostly everything I have acquired for my in between ears space has been after high school and "some college".  (For you it may be a BA or an MA, or even a PhD, but  moi?  I just gets to check the  "some college" box!)

 Gratitude:  I know how to express gratitude thank you to the lady that walked up to me in a a grocery store in Atlanta when I was 18 and pregnant, humbly and discreetly put a $50 bill in my hand because she said I reminded her of her daughter.  (that and the fact that I took umpteen minutes trying to decide do I need eggs more or milk more???) I ate all week on that fifty bucks!

 Humility: I've learned t that a constant "Whoa is me" disposition about anything less stressful than death, war, or losing a loved one is kinda pointless. Sure, we get caught up in moments of angst, pain, and turmoil, but let it roll..... If it's not life changing, it's not worth fretting over beyond a few moments. Focus on the solutions to it and move on from your bitching. Stop being so dramatic. Go watch a Sarah Mclachlan video or something.  That's the spirit!

Grace: Grace is knowing when to shut the hell up and knowing how to convey/package the most insulting of thoughts in a nice Tiffany box. Make it palatable.

Pride: Not in a 7 deadly sin type of way.  Pride is in the support not in the bragging.  

Intelligence:  As I age, I realize that intelligence is not knowing where in the body the Islet of Langerhans is but in the wisdom of life's lessons. It is gained through listening to others, constant observations, and ignoring the ignorant.

Objectivity:   Be able to argue on both sides of the podium. Can't make informed decisions or conclusions without knowing the side you are fighting or debating against.


Truth be told:  Schools of thought aren't acquired in red brick schoolhouses, they are learned through life experiences, observations, and practices.

And how about an apropos addendum called the "American fortune cookie":

 You are better off playing dice on the school playground than fiddling with beekers in chemistry. 

PS. In case you intelligent people are still wondering, the Islet of Langerhans is in the pancreas.