SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:

Celebrating my 62nd birthday this week, I pray I’ve learned that:

 Maturity has more to do with what you’ve learned from your experiences and what they have taught you than your age.

 Our background and circumstances influence who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

 It is taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

 It is a lot easier to react than it is to think.

 It takes years to build trust and seconds to destroy it.

 Learning to forgive, especially myself, takes practice.

 You shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.

 It’s not what happens to people that’s important — it’s what they do about it.

 “Family” isn’t biological.

 No matter how thinly you slice it, there are always two sides.

 Two people can look at exactly the same thing and see something totally different.

 Money is a lousy way of keeping score.

 What you (and I) have is enough.

 You can keep going long after you think you can’t.

 Heroes (and sheroes) are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

 No matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves enjoy life most.

 Who, not what, you have in your life counts most.

 True friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance, and the same goes for true love.

 You can’t make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved and leave the rest up to them.

 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.

 If you love someone, you’d best tell and show them.

 Although the word “love” can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used; still...

 Only love lasts forever (1 Cor. 13:8) because God is love (1 John 4:8b).

I wholeheartedly hope that I have learned all this and much more.

PETER D. HAYNES is the very rev.’d canon of Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar.