10 things I learned at Midorikai

I look back on my time at Midorikai and I thought about what I had learned there. Some of the lessons I learned there have nothing to do with tea and yet they have everything to with tea and life. I am still striving to put these into practice every single day.

1. Be open to the experience that life presents to you. Say yes more often than no. Opportunities may not look like what you expected or wished for.
2. Be thankful everyday for the life you have. Gratitude, even for your troubles because they help you grow.
3. Be kind to other people. It doesn’t take anything away from you to encourage, listen closely, say something nice or do something for someone.
4. Do your best, all the time. You cannot live life at half-speed, there simply is not enough time.
5. Leave something for people who follow you. If you develop knowledge or expertise, pass it on. It does no good if it dies with you.
6. The people you don’t get along with are your teachers. At the minimum, it is good training for you to learn how to handle people and situations you don’t like.
7. Excuses are a waste of time.
8. Be generous. You will be amazed at how much comes back to you.
9. Be careful about acquiring things. The more you own the less space you have. What you buy or accumulate says a lot about you.
10. Learn to let go. Of grudges, of mistakes, of behaviors that don’t serve you, of people who are no longer good for you.