What has life taught you?

I love it when people ask me a question, and are really interested in what I have to say. It gives me an opportunity to experience what's true for me now, and come up with things that I may never have articulated before.

This week such a question came from my dad, who asked: What is something important about life that you've had to learn for yourself? He and some friends are putting together a book that compiles many different people's answers.

Here are some that I came up with:

• I am the only person responsible for my life and choices

• It doesn't feel good to hurt people or wish them harm (myself included)

• My well-being is a gift to others (as well as to me)

• At the core of me is divine, loving awareness

• Fighting reality is always a losing battle

Part of me reads this list and thinks it sounds like just so many tired words. No different than the motivational quotes that I'm inundated with on my Facebook feed. And as mere words, I guess they are boring.

But to me, they aren't just words. Each one has stories and meaning attached, and a sense of visceral knowing that they are true. Not in a way that I would try to logically prove, but that is nevertheless very important to my life.

I'm not sure if would have ever learned these things just by reading someone else's words, but it sure is fun to try to put my experience into words after the fact.

It's also fun for me to hear other people's words, and then learn the stories and experiences behind them.

To that end, what are some of your answers to my dad's question?

What important things about life have you had to learn for yourself? This could be "old wisdom" that you were told as a kid but didn't understand at first, or things you were never told at all, but stumbled upon later in life. How and when did you learn these things?

We both look forward to hearing.