Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Mark David's "Rules" for Living

These so-called rules have long been on the home page of my website, inspired by the "rules" for writing I first crafted for my book on writing/creativity, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write. For now, I offer these "rules" for living on a day when, it seems, a lot of us (including me!) need reminding what it takes to live a creative, passion-fllled life.

Rule #1
There are no rules: There is no right way. There is no wrong way. There is only your way.

Rule #2
What works today may not work tomorrow, so you might as well live in the present moment.

Rule #3
Listen to your heart and trust it; it speaks with the voice of God (or whatever you call that divine intelligence we all carry).

Rule #4
Be vulnerable: Share your pain and your passion. That's what makes you human.

Rule #5
Treat yourself as you would your child or best friend: with love, compassion and respect.

Rule #6
It's not what you do, it's how you live (and love).

Rule #7
It's not how often you meditate, it's whether you live your life as a meditation.

Rule #8
It's not only what you embrace, it's what you shed. It's not only what you shed, it's what you embrace.

Rule #9
It's not how hard you push, it's how fully you surrender.

Rule #10
Find your passion and embrace it. Passionately.

Rule #11
It's not about being perfect, it's about being human.

Rule #12
Empower yourself: This is your life. Don't let anyone else tell you how to live it (or not live it).

Rule #13
There are no rules. None. Never.

To read my "rules" for writing (remarkably similar to these "rules" for living), click here. You'll find a more detailed version in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.
Photos by Mark David Gerson (c) 2011, 2012 -- #1 Supermarket flower, Albuquerque, NM; #2 Butterfly, University of New Mexico; #3 Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, CA. For reprint/sale info, contact Mark David.

4 comments:

That_One_Guy said...

Always a nice reminder!! (:

Angela Alvarez said...

Truly rules to live by. I really, really liked this post. Insightful, simple and beautifully written. Wow.

suzzy said...

Hi guy, I really love your mind! I even subscribed to your kindle blog (but probably only for the free two weeks,lol)

Anyways your rules for life are right on in my humble opinion.

Mark David Gerson said...

Thanks, Suzzy. And thanks for subscribing to my email list. You'll get pretty much the same material as you'll get with the Kindle blog subscription...albeit with not quite as cool delivery!