A Yardstick of Simple and Meaningful Living (Rules of Life - Richard Templar)

Member Name: curious_tan

Product:	Rules of Life - Richard Templar
Date:	29/06/06 (712 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: This book is a must read for young and adults. Something that reminds us of the reasons of living

Disadvantages: None

Richard Templar's Rules of Life gives us a list of 100 rules or guidelines in life based from the author's observations with other people lives or with himself. Some of these rules are easy to follow, in a way that we have already following/adhering or practising these(consciously/ unconsciously) through the years. Some of them might be difficult because it is new to us, or we just ignored them since we dont care to follow them - something that touch our egos.

The discussions are divided into 5 sections - covering the rules about ourselves, our partner (companion in life-wife or husband),our family (children), our social circle (colleagues and friends) and about the world (earth) we live. The first section (50 rules) focuses on a personal level - something about our personal standards and for our bechmark for personal progress. The second section (16 rules) deals with our partner (or lover) in life to bring sustaining, productive and enjoyable companionship/relationship with people we loved most and to be with them for the rest of our lives! The third section (13 rules) touches our relationship with our family members and relatives, and our responsibilities towards our parents, our children, and even our brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins. The fourth section (13 rules) is about our social circle - association/interaction with people in our jobs, clubs, or even people we just recently met or completely a stranger! And the last section (8 rules) talks about our roles in the society we belong and the world we live - something that has a global perspective.

It is a well written piece of work having discussions for each rule that everyone can fully understand. Mr Templar was also able to write inspiring quotations such as follows (as quoted from the book). In Rule#2: "Wisdom isn't about not making mistakes but about learning to escape afterwards with our dignity and sanity intact"... In Rule#44: "Staying young is trying our new tastes, new places to go, new styles"... In Rule#73: "You can't change a bad child but you can change bad behaviour"...Rule#86: "If you have a special talent or skill, pass it on"... and Rule#87: "Getting involved means rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty but having a real experience along the way"...

There were some rules that I personally disagreed but nevertheless, having this book, I was inspired to write my own personal rules of simple living. Or maybe for some people, after reading this book, you will find out that Templar's rules are incomplete and obsolete!

As I said earlier, as inspired by the book I was able to have my own 40 rules of living (top 10 rules listed below). This is not something to prescribe and preach to my readers but rather sharing my thoughts on how i survive and making (still on-going) my life better, happier and more fulfilling and rewarding. For some readers, these rules might be irrelevant as well, however, I just want to share, how the book was able to inspire me and reflect on those rules mentioned in the book. Consequently, these rules somehow help transform myself into a better and contented person, and do and view things differently! Rule 1: Thank God for everything; Rule 2: Home is the beginning of everything; Rule 3: Embrace life with open heart and mind; Rule 4: Read, (w)rite, and recite (3Rs); Rule 5: Use your potentials; Rule 6: Love your parents and grandparents; Rule 7: Explore and be adventurous; Rule 8: Sing a song, have a beat to dance and cook a meal; Rule 9: Observe, learn and remember; Rule 10: Friendship saves lives.

In conclusion, everyone has its own way on how to enjoy life to the fullest. Everyone has its own way to appreciate life and to be contented of what life can offer. Templar's book is only a guide for us to reflect of what we have done in the past or what we can do for making our life more meaningful. Life is not always offers a road to success, but we have to accept that it has challenges and risks along the way.

Hope that you will be able to grab a copy of the book. Eventually, come up with your own rules of meaningful living...good luck!

Summary: The book is a reminder for us to enjoy life to the fullest and be an inspiration to other people