Philosophy of Life?

[pegkerr]

cakmpls here continues a meme she got from chronicpaint, who asked people to post about what they believe. cakmpls pointed to a nice video clip of Elton John playing "Circle of Life," saying that pretty much comes closest to hers. She also mentioned her daughter's R's answer, which she came up with when she was 14: "Watch your back, watch your heart, and don't be a dumb-ass." Which I think is pretty fabulous philosophy, too, and a good indication of why I admire cakmpls and her husband J. as parents. They've raised great and wise kids.

You may remember a post I did awhile ago:

As I was making my breakfast this morning I had the KSJN Morning Show on, and the song "Nature Boy" started playing.

After listening for a moment, I stepped out into living room, where Fiona was playing a computer game and Rob was talking to Delia, who was sitting on his lap.

"May I have your attention for a moment?" I said. My family looked up at me expectantly. "I just wanted to say that I think that this song has it right. The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I went over and kissed Delia on the top of her head. "If you take anything from what your parents teach you, remember that."

"That's a pretty good rule," said Rob.

It's worth asking again. If you boiled it all down, what would you say under the title "This I Believe" ? Both, perhaps, as something you'd like to pass on as a parent, and more generally, as a guiding philosophy of life?

???