Lessons from the "The Fifth Agreement"

By Tiffany Young
The Fifth Agreement by don Miguel and don Jose Ruiz is an addition to The Four Agreements book published by the same father/son duo. Based on principals of The Toltec, the book shares principles that can turn ones thoughts from Hell to Heaven. The original four principals are:
1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don't take anything personally.
3. Don't make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.
The fifth agreement that was added in this book is "Be skeptical, but learn to listen." I think this is a good addition to the original four, because it reminds us that what others are telling us may not be true—they may just be a reflection of what they believe to be true. I find this in my own life at times, where someone tells me something and then I assume all sorts of things from there. It's difficult to keep these things to ourselves, so e use others as sounding boards, which is fine if they are skeptical, but few of us are leading us to believe and pass on the lies that may be told. None of this has to be done on purpose or with evil intent to cause harm. Therefore, these little lessons put to use in our daily lives can be important. At the end of the book the reader is asked to make the world, your surroundings a better place—not necessarily by doing something outrageous, but something very courageous. To use our words to build better dreams and to create a Heavenly place. I found the authors' wisdom to be helpful. Let me know if you find the same.