This is something I see at my lit commitment every week.  It is my favorite piece.

The mature person has developed attitudes in relation to himself and his environment which have lifted him above "childishness" in thought and behaviour.

Some of the characteristics of the person who has achieved true adulthood are suggested here:

1.  He accpets criticism gratefully, being honestly glad for an opportunity to improve.

2.  He does not indulge in self-pity.  He has begun to feel the laws of compensation opertaing in all life.

3.  He does not expect special consideration from anyone.

4.  He controls his temper.

5.  He meets emergencies with poise.

6.  His feelings are not easily hurt.

7.  He accepts the resopnsibility of his own acts without trying to "alibi".

8.  He has outgrown the "all or nothing" stage.  He recognizes that no person or situation is wholly good or wholly bad, and he beings to appreciate the Golden Mean.

9.  He is not impatient at reasonable delays.  He has learned that he is not the arbiter of the universe and that he must often adjust himself to other people and their convenience.

10.  He is a good loser.  He can endure defeat and disappointment without whining or complaining.

11. He does not worry unduly about things he cannot help.

12. He is not given to boasting or "showing off" in socially unacceptable ways.

13.  He is honestly glad when others enjoy success or good fortune.  He has outgrown envy or jealousy.

14.  He is open-minded enough to listen throughtfully to the opinions of others.

15.  He is not a chronic "fault-finder".

16.  He plans things in advance rather than trusting to the inspiration of the moment.

Last of all we think in terms of spirtiual maturity.

1.  He has faith in a Power greater than himself.

2.  He feels himself an organic part of mankind as a whole, contributing his part to each group of which he is a member.

3.  He obeys the spiritual essence of the Golden Rule: "Though shalt love thy neighbor as theyself."

(From the "Moral and Spiritual Values in Education," used by the Los Angeles City Schools as part of their education program.)

thx

tlc