"What have I learned in life?"

I have spent the last two glorious weeks in Amalfi and to escape from the trials and tribulations of the last year I have been reading everything and anything I could lay my hands on. I have re-read most of the fantastic Terry Pratchett novels along with thrillers and histories and real rubbish. I have also been reviewing some of the stuff I put on the blogs and I re-read this and wanted to share it again with the people I care about. Read it carefully because it's powerful stuff.

"What have I learned in life? I've learned that...

• you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them. 
• no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back. 
• it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it. 
• it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts. 
• you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something. 
• you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do. 
• you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life. 
• it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be. 
• you can keep going long after you can't. 
• we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. 
• either you control your attitude or it controls you. 
• regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place. 
• heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. 
• money is a lousy way of keeping score. 
• my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time. 
• sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up. 
• sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. 
• true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love. 
• just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. 
• maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated. 
• you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it. 
• your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, how people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't always biological. 
• no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. 
• it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. 
• no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief. 
• our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. 
• just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do. 
• we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change. 
• you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever. 
• two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different. 
• no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process. 
• your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you. 
• even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help. 
• credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being. 
• the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon. 
• it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe. " 

Powerful stuff and worth remembering as we enter what appears to be a crazy and challenging period in this country where undoubtedly we will get things wrong and screw up but hopefully as always continue to learn, to grow and develop and above all to try and make a real difference for those who need us most. Keep the faith!

Chris