The Discipline of Being Human

As I search for the meaning of life and my purpose, I have come to appreciate the value of reminders of mindfulness. So I put here a list of disciplines which I practice, when I remember, in the hopes that these will turn in to habits:

1. Live life to its most fulfilling. 
2. Practice the discipline of being human.
3. Embrace my responsibility to the others.
4. Demand the best from every human being.
5. Respect and honor all life, for it is life which gave birth to human beings.
6. Strive to understand everything, knowing I never will.
7. Relish my own life, because every living thing offers something unique.
8. Fight for the survival of life itself, but be prepared to sacrifice my own life for the survival of others.
9. Live a purposeful life.
10. Experience the "life" in every living thing.
11. Never grow jaded with the wonders of life.
12. Experience my senses, refine and teach them the infinite subtleties of diversity.
13. Embrace variety as the source of life itself.
14. Cherish the few moments I am given in my own life.

As a gourmand eats to satisfy his love of food, and a gourmet eats to satisfy his love of taste, I will be a gourmet of life, not a gourmand. The discipline is in the caring for more than just myself.