Lessons don't stop when we graduate, no matter how far we go in formal education.  They keep presenting themselves throughout life.

Unlike when learning in a formal school setting, we think we can get away with ignoring life's lessons.  Wrong.

I've found that lessons ramp up if I ignore them.  What begins as a small lesson will surely return in a medium size if not recognized at step one.  If still ignored, the once tiny lesson will eventually become humongous.

Picture the big dog who has not been trained.  'Don't jump on me,' can escalate to the mailman.  We don't want to wait until he knocks Grandma over.  She might not be able to get up.

Some lessons are obvious, most are not.  We have to stay tuned in to learn through wisdom instead of the way we too often learn - through woe.

Unlike when learning in a formal
school setting, we think we can get
away with ignoring life's lessons.  Wrong.

One way to learn is to pay attention to what we don't like in others.  We are quick to become irritated at faults we ourselves have in abundance.  If we can hear ourselves chastising others, we can run quickly to the mirror and repeat the advice!

I have put off taking a real vacation for quite a while.  I'm taking one now - at home.  Have you ever been too exhausted to go on vacation?  I waited almost too long.  Sometimes it is best to let our bodies pick the time to relax.

Do we think we won't have to learn the lesson?  That must be it.  In my experience, however, the lesson waits while it grows.  The longer the wait, the more it grows.

Sometimes I tell myself I'll deal with it later.  Will I be better able to learn when there is absolutely no other choice?  When we see the freight train approaching, we usually stop everything and get off the tracks.  Not always, but usually.

I must take this vacation first.  Then I'll be able to make a list of lessons with my name on them that I already know are growing.  When I do learn them, I'll share them with you.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.