Ten Rules for Living the Good Life
You must make peace with your own past.
_Construct a mental suture
with timeless thread and mercy’s needle,
_Then focus on your future.
What other people think of you
_you never will control.
If truly bad, then prove them wrong
_For peace within your soul.
The only person who’s in charge
_of happiness is you.
It matters not what others think,
_or what they say and do.
You can’t compare your life to others,
_Not knowing what they’ve gone through.
What you can do is be supportive
_with friendship that is true.
Time heals almost everything,
_Focus on what’s ahead.
Keep only those good memories,
_Replay them in your head.
Stop overthinking all life’s problems
_Answers are everywhere.
Use more than one source to tackle them
_Then make a choice aware.
Your smile should be your asset.
_There is no cause to frown.
You don’t own all the world’s problems.
_They’ll only get you down.
Be kind and thoughtful to those you meet
_that’s the way to start.
Just one kind act that you have done
_affects all human hearts.
Be thankful for all that you have
_it could be less, you know.
Don’t be Comparison’s poor slave
_Let satisfaction show.
LTC Roy E. Peterson, US Army Military Intelligence and Russian Foreign Area Officer (Retired) has published more than 6,200 poems in 88 of his 112 books. He has been an Army Attaché in Moscow, Commander of INF Portal Monitoring in Votkinsk, first US Foreign Commercial Officer in Vladivostok, Russia and Regional Manager in the Russian Far East for IBM. He holds a BA, Hardin-Simmons University (Political Science); MA, University of Arizona (Political Science); MA, University of Southern California (Int. Relations) and MBA University of Phoenix. He taught at the University of Arizona, Western New Mexico University, University of Maryland, Travel University and the University of Phoenix.
I don’t disagree with anything that you’ve included, and I can’t think of any significant omissions. Well done in form and structure. I can’t complain about not knowing how to live. Now all I have to do is consistently put these rules into practice. How hard can that be?
A wise man speaks here. Good stuff, Roy! Thank you.
LTC Peterson, I don’t know when you were born, but I know this — you are real OLD SCHOOL. I don’t think there are many left with the kind of intelligent toughness and steel backbone that this poem displays.
You are inner-directed, rather than other-directed. This means you think for yourself, you do what you want in the manner that you want, you aren’t swayed by the silly opinions of others, and you don’t fall for trends and fads. And even with this fierce interior independence, you are still invariably polite and considerate with others. I can see why you had such a stellar career in the military and in diplomacy.
When I see our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, I think of you. When I see the ex-CIA man Mike Baker on “The Gutfeld Show” I think of you. When I reflect on all the tough, brilliant, non-nonsense men who rose to important positions in our military, our intelligence services, and our diplomatic corps, I think of you. All such men came along long before the hysteria about ‘toxic masculinity” poisoned American thinking, and before pronouns became more important than weaponry and INTEL.
Thank you for this poem.
I’ll stick this on my classroom noticeboard, if I may.
It’s true and it rhymes, I love it, great job! I wish I could have learned this from my parents or teachers in elementary, middle, high school, or college, but I suspect they didn’t posses such wisdom. I had to learn this the hard way and it’s taken me the better part of my life to figure it out. Now if only there were some book of Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, none would need to err.
I get it, Yael. We also need a B.I.B.L.E., where many of Roy’s points are made in the wisdom books. But there is more, and with my experience in libraries of medieval poetry (mentioned below), about a third of the writings are moral and another third are religious. None need to err, but practice takes power.
Roy, this wise and wonderful poem should be posted in schools and everywhere that people gather. These thoughts may be considered old-fashioned in some circles, but I would call them timeless. I am especially pleased that many of your “rules” are based on concrete, practical experience. One can tell that you speak from personal experience. That being said, these are simple (not simplistic) rules. “Simple” does not mean they are easy. The idea of lifting up a car with your bare hands is simple but in practice rather difficult. And so it is with, among other things, not letting other people get to you, not overthinking problems and somehow maintaining a positive attitude. Simple but not easy.
Sometimes we can be dismissive of moral advice, but then there are the times when we hear or read something we recognize as essential truths. In the latter case, an involuntary nod precedes a bout of soul-searching. Do you see what you’ve done to us.?!
OMG – does this ever resonate! It grabbed my attention from the first line. I love the imagery of “Construct a mental suture … with timeless thread and mercy’s needle”. Wonderfully done, Roy!
Roy, these are at once old school and timeless. For a while I spent a lot of time in libraries of medieval poetry, where this kind of thing, “moral poetry” about how to get along in life, made up about a third of the collections. A third of the writings from a thousand years! It’s also right to think of it as something that is today most often learned in the military. Today’s military and the Middle Ages have one major thing in common: hierarchy. No one does what he wants the way he wants! You remember basic training on military customs and courtesies. These are not optional. A man or woman is, though, responsible for his or her attitude. When I served, the most commonly excoriated vice was self-pity. Obey the rules and orders, and no matter your rank or talents, don’t consider yourself a victim. That feeling of being victimized is far too common today, and except in actual cases of real persecution or oppression, it is the thing that most destroys personal happiness.
What others have gone through can be imagined, especially because persons often give little hints about it. You are right that true, supportive friendship can do wonders if we make allowances for known and unknown backstories. But for ourselves, the best advice you give is to “replay” good memories, and make more to share with acts of kindness.
Nicely done, Roy! I am fortunate to have had parents raise me according to these old school, and as Margaret says, timeless, principles. I wish I could trade my upbring with a few youths I dearly love who were raised 180 degrees counter to them. They have much to overcome.
Roy, your wisdom is a profound message, a guide for life ; written with a lyrical rhyme. Lovely!