I have recently be thinking about all the advice my Grandmother has given me as I grew up.

Her influence has always been with me, after all she taught me to read and ride a bike.  She encouraged my art with an array of (usually broken) crayons ready for when I visited

She was one of the strongest (and most stubborn) people I ever met and that determined passion has always been something that shaped who I am today.

Even now, years on from when I was just a stumbling child, her words still ring true.

At the end of May this year she was taken to hospital and at this time is still there under observation. We do not know when she will be well enough to return home. But we are all hoping it will be soon.

I wanted to share her advice here:

1 – Everyone Deserves A Second Chance.
We trust people, we believe in people and sometimes they let us down.  Sometimes its very painful but by giving others a second chance, maybe when we make our own mistakes, someone else will offer us the second chance we need.

2 – Make Do With What You Have
Most likely this came from her dogged "war mentality" that she still harbours today!  But this simple term helped to develop my interest in "Reuse" which can be seen in the many reuse tips I’ve raised on here. 

While society has become very material driven and the pressure to buy buy buy is bombarding us constantly, its good to step back and think "do we REALLY need this?"  It really does make life a lot more simple.

3 – Health should come before wealth!
This piece of advice was given to me after I started to work.  Each day were we slog hard in our jobs, with more people working overtime, bringing work home or doing extra on weekends.

While money is needed for bills and food etc, in the end without our health we can not continue in our jobs.  My Grandmother always made a point of stating that working constantly to earn large amounts of money was useless if you didn’t have your health and any time to enjoy it.

4 – Respect God’s creatures
Whatever deity (or not) you believe its still a good piece of advice.  The animals, plants and insects on this world are sharing it with us.  

Eco-systems are what hold this planet together and we should respect that and treat them well!

My Grandmother’s gentle nature with any stray insect that came in the house (and thus had to be removed not killed) to the weekly visits to the canal ducks helped to mould my understanding and compassion for animals and the natural world.  

5 – Nowt better than fresh air and a good run about
Never one for allowing us to sit idle by the TV, my Grandmother believed in children playing out.  Maybe that is why even as an adult I still prefer the outdoors whether it’s gardening, walking… or randomly flying my "mini" kite! *grin*

With TVs, games, iPods and all the other electronic gizmos children seem to feel the need to wire themselves up to, it is a good idea to unplug once in a while and get out in the fresh air!  To the parks or just out in the garden!

6 – Don’t Depend on Others to Look After You
This was definitely given more to my sister and I.  My gran was a very strong believer in female independence. 

We all need a helping hand now and then but in the end you should be able to stand on your own two feet as much as you can.   

7 – Learn from What you can not Change
I think this always came from me because I was a worrier (part of me still is!).  My gran was always ready with the usual comment of:

"What’s done is done, so why worry?"  She was right of course, once you’ve made a decision and have no more control over the outcome worrying does become a bit redundant.

The best way is to realise you’re worrying, step back and think about if you have any control over what is happening.  If not, then let the worry go.

Control the small things that you can and let the big things take care of themselves.

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I would love to hear from anyone else who may have their own "Ageless wisdom" passed down to them.

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~To the people who change our lives~

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: advice, grannies, philosophy, thoughts

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