New Year's Piece Yields Tenets

ENJOY THE VIEW -- Scrpkym's photo of Clay from the Joyful Not a Tour Concert in Charlotte helps comply with the seventh canon of "Advice from a Tree."

Fans Share Favorite Repartee

New Year's Piece Yields Tenets

My philosophy about New Year's resolutions somewhat resembles one of Clay Aiken's favorite holiday renditions, "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day." Over the years, my annual January resolves have become more akin to ongoing goals than a renewed list at the calendar changeover.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? is an intriguing thought attributed to Dr. Robert Schuller. One my mother's favorite books was Leaves of Gold, and I no doubt acquired my affinity for meaningful quotes from her. For other inspirational gems, see Trying.

I frequently tell friends that reading a linear CA message board thread leaves little need for televised news, inclement weather reports, even sports scores, as events from near and far find their way into the Internet conversations. This morning Christelklein, a librarian in northwest Ontario, cataloged a donated book, Ten Rules for Being Human, and on her break shared some information that I think has a place in these New Year ramblings.

Nine of Cherie Carter-Scott's Ten Rules for Being Human can be attributed to ancient Sanscrit. Others, including Carter-Scott, have added the tenth.

TEN RULES FOR BEING HUMAN

1. You will receive a body. You may like or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "life."

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."

4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."

7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

10. You will forget all this before birth.

Tree Offers Simple Wisdom

Somewhere along the way I saved an email that outlines Ilan Shamir's Advice From a Tree. In researching background for this list, I located an excerpt from the book at Amazon:

Everyone needs a wise friend. Someone who knows how to say just the right thing. At just the right moment. Here a hundred year old Cottonwood tree shares its simple wisdom about life, about living in harmony with ourselves and with nature.

ADVICE FROM A TREE

Stand tall and proud.
Sink your roots into the earth.
Be content with your natural beauty.
Go out on a limb.
Drink plenty of water.
Remember your roots.
Enjoy the view.

Great tenets with which to close these New Year ramblings and, more importantly, to add to those ongoing goals. Meanwhile, this blog now pays close attention to #7 and segues into five mighty fine views from Clay's Christmas Symphony Tour. Hope you enjoy!

PHOTO INTERMISSION: This clickable interlude featues photos from Clay's Joyful Not a Tour 06. Photographers include Fivegoldens, 1, West Point, and 5, Grand Rapids; and Scrpkym, 2, 3, and 4, West Point. Links to their photo albums are included.

Fans Compile Banter Highlights

Even with the promise of a fledgling year and a "fresh start," we CA fans are not quite ready to put the December tour on the shelf. Besides preserving the joyous music, as well as our guy's jovial banter in video, audio, and photo form, fans continue to review highlights of the JNaT in message board discussions.

Monday the question -- What was your favorite one-liner from the tour? -- was posed at CV, and several replies are reproduced here. Some have been combined. What was your favorite repartee during the 18-city tour? Look forward to reading your additions to the list!

Some of the Best One-Liners of JNaT 2006

Git er done.

Playing with the wood. [Definition for the musical term "col legno"]

Eyes up here.

Unfortunately, I'm not.

You messed up her hairdo!

You can all say you slept with Clay Aiken.

Elmer, I would be careful about wearing so much white, if I were you.

There is so much talent in my family.

It certainly wasn't for being the quietest!

Oh, my God, I'm funny!

You're stealin' mah show!

They're a special breed. They're a different folk, as you can tell. They may even teach your children!

If you were in my classroom, you'd be out in the hall!

In the last three weeks, I've had mah lips done, fathered an illegitimate child, and caused a national controversy with one move of mah hand.

Apparently, there's a little red headed baby boy out there in the world.

It took me 20 minutes to squeeze into this sweater.

I figure as long as I get the words "Jesus, Christmas, and snowbells" in there, somewhere you'll get it.

Please welcome the executive producer of one of the worst albums of 2006.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Now, be nice!

She's gonna be on the message boards, "He was suckin' in all night!"

I'm an enigma whose put on weight.

You go ahead and play whatever you want, sir. If I know the words, I'll sing along.

You don't have to buy the smut. We just give it to you right here.

Gentlemen, the fact that you're here is good and it'll help when you get home.

Can you what? Can you see my socks?

It's a little less sweet now and a little more suspect.

That woman just thumped him in the head! You can't do that! That's like putting your hand over someone's mouth!

Sometimes things come out of my mouth that don't even go through my brain!

Whatevah!

Clickable Blend by AmazingCA,
Photos by Invisible926

Have an awesome "premiere week" of 2007, Clay Nation!

Caro

RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, Joyful Not a Tour, Christmas Symphony Tour, Dr. Robert Schuller, Ten Rules for Being Human, Cherie Carter-Scott, Advice from a Tree, Ilan Shamir, Clay Nation