I didn’t go to kindergarten. At the time it wasn’t a requirement before first grade, so I don’t know what it was like, but my younger sister did go. I was so jealous when she graduated and had a ceremony with cap and gown – the whole works. I felt like I missed out on something important.

I think many people could benefit by taking kindergarten lessons again. I am shocked on a regular basis how people act, what they think is okay to do, and how they treat others.

Although I did not attend kindergarten, I did not miss out on the lessons. What they taught in my first-grade class was the same rules. Robert Fulghum wrote a book over thirty years ago called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It became a New York Times bestseller and sold over seven million copies around the world. The book reminds us of lessons with short essays on life, death, love, pain, joy, sorrow, and other topics. The book is named after the first essay in the volume involving what was normally learned in American Kindergarten classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if we as adults (and Nations) applied these basic rules in our everyday life. If you have not read the book, here is the list from Fulghum’s book:

“These are the things I learned (in kindergarten):

1. Share everything.

2. Play fair.

3. Don’t hit people.

4. Put things back where you found them.

5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.

6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

7. Say you’re SORRY when you HURT somebody.

8. Wash your hands before you eat.

9. Flush.

10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

11. Live a balanced life – learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

12. Take a nap every afternoon.

13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we.

16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

 I believe we need to have a kindergarten refresher for adults to remind them of these important lessons.

 Yoga philosophy is like the kindergarten lessons. The eight paths of Yoga are more than the Asanas (poses/exercise), it’s about how we treat ourselves and others. Without getting technical and using the Sanskrit words, the eight Limbs of Yoga can be summarized as follows:

1. Do Good – Compassion for all and do no harm. Have honest and integrity.

2. Be Good – Self-care, dedication, contentment and grace with self-growth and acceptance.

3. Feel Good – Exercise with postures for a healthy body and a calm mind.

4. Live Good – Learn breathing practices to link the breath, body, and mind.

5. Control of the Senses – Awareness of thoughts and drawing them inward.

6. Concentration – Focus without distraction.

7. Meditation – Devotion to the divine or higher being.

8. Absorption – State of Peace.

Perhaps the world would be a little better if we all leaned a bit in the direction of caring for others and ourselves.

 “I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” ― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things

 Robin Anne Griffiths–Founder of ReChargeMe Zone * Behavioral Change Specialist * Yoga Instructor * Meditation Facilitator * Personal Trainer * Author * Speaker * Helping people on a journey for change to live a fuller and healthier life. Find out more at www.rechargemezone.com.