by Jaylynn McClendon
Members of Messiah Lifeways’ Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning
John Luetzelschwab, 75
Most Important Life Lesson: My life lesson has three parts: Be patient, be accepting of yourself and others and be humble. All of the above allow you to be satisfied with yourself, which results in less stress and more happiness. When working on a task, you can feel good about completing it if you did your best, and on vacation, you can relax more if you realize the “task” is to avoid the stress of work. This could be referred to as self-esteem, a quality that is earned and not given or taken away.
Advice: This too will pass! Don’t be too critical of yourself and others.
Janet Meredith, 78
Most Important Life Lesson: Accept that life is a roller coaster. Accept this, then do the best you can toward whom you meet along the way. Whether in your faith, family, friends, job or the strangers you meet, treating them with kindness and respect is a worthy goal. It’s not always easy but allows one to live comfortably with themselves.
Advice: My advice is to stay as healthy as you can, find something to be grateful for each day and keep humor in your life!
Marilyn L. Smith, 83
Most Important Life Lesson: I’ve learned many life lessons, but I believe the most significant one was how important it is to live my life with integrity. I think I learned this by watching people in my life whom I greatly respected. I gradually came to understand that values such as these contributed to the quality of their lives. They were successful, not because of their wealth, the jobs they held or the position they had attained; rather, they were successful because they lived their lives with integrity.
Advice: The best advice I can give to others is to base your life on values that really matter and that last.