Society is constantly telling us how we should behave: behavior is enforced through rules and laws, schools and teachers have certain expectations, and religious leaders preach about conduct based on sacred texts.
Most often, we learn how to behave through our parents and families. We are raised for the better part of our years by these people who tell us how to act, how to love, and much more. For many of us, what we learn as children is often challenged in our teen years, when we become more influenced by friends, peers, and the media. We just want to fit in, and they tell us what to wear, how to act, and what to think.
Each of us is shaped under unique circumstances, and we must think for ourselves. But no matter what point of your life you’re at, everyone has advice to give. Ralph Ellison summed up the tension between seeking how to live from both within and without in his classic, The Invisible Man:
“All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: that I am nobody but myself.”
With that in mind, here are some books about life lessons and rules to live by:
Mandela’s Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age
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