Rules of Thumb: Guide to Living, Part 1

Instead of resolutions, here's something a little different. Drawing on personal experience and social observation, including basic ideas culled from religion, philosophy, poetry and psychology, here's the first of a four-part series regarding approaches to living in today's vast, global social matrix. This connects friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, peers and colleagues to varying degrees, and assumes a modicum of food, shelter and clothing as base point; these approaches would probably not hold much water for someone mentally paralyzed or stricken with cholera.

Part 1.

Do not succumb to feeling sorry for yourself or anyone else. This is almost always a useless feeling -- especially for everyone else involved. Instead, either do something for yourself or help someone else, or both. Start now if you need to.

Refrain from worry, an almost always useless emotion. Instead, exercise one or more of the following: patience, meditation, prayer, faith, exercise, self-care. Except in certain objectively dangerous situations, fear is a useless emotion. However, attention must be paid to the little things and to the big things, just not all at once or you will go crazy.

If angry, make it brief and move on -- channel into something creative and purposeful. But if you need to be angry, let it flare out and don’t turn inward on yourself.

Aim to keep your ego out of most interactions -- if you're feeling touchy about something, ask yourself why. Change accordingly.

Refrain from guilting people and refuse to be guilted by people.

Avoid toxic people in your life when possible and, if not, contain them.

If you are not happy with the general status quo, change it and if you cannot, change yourself. Do something helpful in some way.

Refrain from obsessing about age, but act abidingly and do be aware of mortality in your decisions. Don't hold back unless the situation demands it.

Today's Rune: Fertility.