The Lessons of Life

I have done a lot of different things
Over the course of my life,
Worked a wide variety of jobs,
Seen both success and failure,
And learned a few things
About life along the way.
I learned that life is seldom as easy
As I think it should be,
But it is seldom as difficult
As I make it out to be.
It is full of strange twists and turns
And convoluted lessons.
Planning is important,
But it rarely went as planned.
I learned I have nothing to prove,
Except to myself,
And I am the hardest one to please.
I learned that life is a competition,
Me against myself,
And sometimes I win
And sometimes I loose,
But I have also learned
Not to get too excited about my victories,
Nor too upset about my losses.
I have learned to take each day
One day at a time,
To smell the roses along the way,
To take a risk now and then,
To live a little
And to love a lot.
Most important, I have learned
To take life in stride,
Yet give it all I have got,
And when I fall down,
To get up and dust myself off,
And go at it again.