Charlise’s List of 100 Ways to Build a Beautiful Life

1. You are powerful. You have the ability to build a beautiful life. Do it.

2. Don’t yell at your kids.

3. If you do lose your cool and yell at your kids, apologize quickly and sincerely. You are the parent.

4. Don’t have an affair. This causes much heartache for you and so many others.

5. Remember the advice of your favorite grandparent: all things in moderation.

6. Wash your hands.

7. Discover small ways to show appreciation to the people you love.

8. Remember that peace begins with your lovely smile.

9. Learn to see and appreciate beauty.

10. Love your body, and take care of it.

11. Love your sexuality; it’s a good and beautiful part of being human. Be responsible and safe with it.

12. Treat yourself and others with kindness.

13. Keep a log of your dreams, both night-time and waking. You’ll learn so much about your depths.

14. Enjoy the voyage of self-discovery.

15. Mine the depths of your soul; there you will discover the pearl of great price, a unique treasure.

16. Remember that prayer changes you. Setting aside your ego to remember others opens your heart to compassion.

17. Meditate – sitting, standing, lying down, walking. However you do it, take the time to cultivate silence in your life.

18. Get to know your neighbors.  

19. Take responsibility for your mistakes.

20. Apologize to others when you hurt them.

21. Focus on forgiveness and reconciliation in your most intimate relationships. If you start there, you’ll become a more peaceful and forgiving person in other areas of your life.

22. Forgiveness is a process; most often it begins with ourselves.

23. Don’t yell at your kids.

24. Eradicate violence from your life.

25. Violence takes many forms – verbal, physical and emotional.  Walk away from violent relationships. You don’t deserve to be treated that way.

26. Words both hurt and heal. Be careful what you say.

27. Love your partner by encouraging his or her own growth.

28. Love your children by letting them live in the tension of boundaries and freedom.

29. Take time to laugh.

30. Nourish friendships with the people who make you laugh.

31. Find someone in your life who listens well. Share with this person your deepest thoughts and desires.

32. When you need help with something, ask for it.

33. Live your life truthfully. Don’t hide behind a facade or a mask.

34. Come out of whatever closet you find yourself in. Live honestly and truthfully.

35. Love your aging parents.

36. Your parents gave you life. If you can remember and be thankful for nothing else, be thankful for this.

37. Don’t speed. 

38. Take care of yourself. Let it begin with brushing and flossing.

39. Take up urban farming. Working the earth will restore your soul.

40. Become a life-long learner. Make a point to learn something new every year.

41. Plant flowers.

42. Fill your home with the music you love.

43. Turn off the television.

44. Email etiquette is important. Learn about it.

45. Don’t post anything on a social networking site which will cause you or your mother embarassment.

46. Don’t post anything on a social networking site that you’d rather not see as a headline in your morning newspaper.

47. Don’t post anything on a social networking site that you’ll have to answer to in a court or a deposition. Be smart.

48. Read great literature.

49. Write poetry.

50. Learn a new language.

51. Be disciplined about saving money.

52. Remember, you have to take care of yourself. No one else is going to do it for you. 

53. Please take responsibility for your mistakes. The world is already too full of fools who don’t.

54. Don’t blame others. It’s an easy out.

55. Don’t throw your pearls before swine. Be careful with whom you share the deepest parts of yourself.

56. Fresh flowers  – set them out in your home or office.

57. If you lose your cool and yell at your kids, apologize.

58. Pray, meditate and find time for silence in your life.

59. Do work that is meaningful.

60.  Find ways to help others in your community.

61. Share your food with those who have none.

62. Speak and act when injustice rears its ugly head, which unfortunately, is often.

63. Laugh.

64. Surround yourself with good friends.

65. Forgive one another.

66. Once a month, have a conversation with someone who is vastly different from yourself. You’ll learn something about your shared humanity.

67. Make a date with yourself frequently.

68. Enjoy live music.

69. Dance around your house in your pajamas, and sing as loud as you can.

70. Read good poetry.

71. Treat yourself to a good manicure and pedicure  – men and women -  you’re worth it.

72. Travel and open your heart to new cultures, people and experiences.

73. Plant a garden.

74. Again, don’t have an affair.

75. Please don’t yell.

76. We all have bad days. Remember this the next time your boss is a grump. On the other hand, if your boss is grump all the time, perhaps it’s time to move on.

77. No one is going to remember your grade point average. What people will remember is the compassion of your heart.

78. Tell the people you love what their presence in your life means to you.

79. There are simply some people you will never be able to be in relationship with. Walk away, without guilt.

80. Speaking of guilt, let go of that baggage. There’s appropriate guilt and then there’s the guilt we carry around because we think we have to. You can’t save the world.

81. You are powerful. You have the ability to build a beautiful life. Do it.

82. Spend time in nature. Go camping, raft down a river, climb a mountain, hike a trail. Spending time in nature can renew us in ways that few experiences can.

83. Pay your bills.

84. Smile. Your smile is lovely, really.

85. Put your phone away when you’re with friends at a restaurant or if  you’re in a business meeting. Nothing is so irritating as having a good conversation or meeting disrupted by you searching your iphone for information about the weekend weather.

86. Don’t drink and drive. It’s dangerous.

87. Write thank you notes with a pen, and use a nice notecard. Mail it. People will remember you with kindness.

88. Always try to be kind.

89. No one is impressed with your cursing. Expand your vocabulary.

90. Help people who are in need.

91. You can’t know yourself without understanding your history. Don’t forget where you’ve come from.

92. Free yourself from judgmentalism.

93. Cherish your friends.

94. Suffering is part of this world, but it’s not all there is too it.

95. Open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you.

96. Forgive yourself.

97. Maintain your home and keep it clean. You honor yourself and your loved ones by doing this.

98. Cook with abandon.

99. Do something completely outrageous at least once in your life – something people would never expect of you. Of course, be safe doing it, and keep it legal.

100. You are powerful. You have the ability to build a beautiful life. Do it.

copyright 2011, charlise hill-larson