The Importance of Relationships in Shaping Character : หน้า 35/164

live with them from the time we are born. Each one of these groups shapes our character, our basic nature, and that is why we teach that the very first, of the thirty-eight blessings in this life is to not associate with fools, and the second is to associate with wise people. You can, of course, understand just how important it is to associate with the best people because then we will not be lead, at an early age, down a path that will be destructive. “If we look closely at this rendering, we can see that the parents are in front and this is because they are the most important people in our lives when we are born: they teach us, train us, provide us with an education, and provide us with our basic necessities. They also, in many cases, provide us with an inheritance when they die. But what do we owe them? Our gratitude and care in return. Remember that if it were not for them, we would not be born or still be alive. “To the right of us, are our teachers. Next to our parents, these people are second in importance because they give us knowledge so that we can live a good life socially as well as economically: if we study well and learn the material that we need to learn in life, then we obtain good employment and, thereby, earn a good living. In return for their dedication to us, we owe them our respect, our attention, and our time. They are, after all, devoting their own education, money, and time to help us become better people. They also help us learn how to get along with other people in a group environment. Surely, our family does some of that, but in the classroom, we have to learn to socialize with many different types of people who are all vying for the attention of the teacher. “To the rear of us, are our own spouse or partner and family, if we have them. Many of you here, of course, are young and do not yet have your own family. But when you do, you will need to always be courteous, faithful, nurturing, and honorable in your actions toward those people with whom you share your daily lives. You will also need to prepare yourselves for instructing your own family in the Six Directions of socialization. You, as the caregiver, need to not only possess the Right View, but teach those in your family what it means to posses the Right View, or Right Understanding. “To the left of us, are our friends, or if we are students, our classmates. Now in order to be a good friend to others, we need to remind ourselves to be generous with our time and energy. We should always try to help them become better people because one of the things a friend does is encourage his or her friends to be the best that they can be. We need to be loving, compassionate, and mindful of our expectations as well. And this includes all of those friends you are making on social networks like Facebook, or My Space, or Twitter.”