abstract rules fail

I have been thinking alot lately of all the virtues and "rules of life" that we all hear and know and idealy would be great but how abstract they are and how much they fail us, or we fail them because trully what do they mean. I think back on my life and realize that many of them I ignored becuase they were not realistic, I had no true idea of what they meant and they seemed poetic and ideal vs realistic. I dont want Vaughnie to ever feel like I give her unattainable rules or standards so I have been thinking about the things I knew but didnt understand and how to better explain them to her without the cliche when she gets older.

Example: We are always told growing up in church to "GUARD YOUR HEART." Really? What? I now, just recently, have truly grasped the meaning of that. But growing up, even until probably this year, I thought it was such a cliche stupid thing to say. Really, guard your heart? I thought it meant you shouldn't get close to anyone except your future spouse, guard it from getting hurt, the only way to do this is to avoid meaningful relationships with people, I couldn't hire a soldier to man the entrance to my emotions and I couldn't build a high gate around my heart so I just through out that life lesson. I can honestly say that I just didn't get it. No explaination was ever given about it.. All I remember EVER being told was "guard your heart." And it went in one ear and out the other. I now get it and wish it had not gone out the other ear....

I feel like that has been the case with alot of lessons I am just now learning. I had heard them before but they were never explained, never spoken in laymen terms, never broken down with examples....just said and moved on and you were expected to believe them and know what they meant. Well I didnt.

Its kind of like telling a teenager "dont use credit cards." Really? Why not. Unless you sit with a bill and break down what you pay now vs what you will pay with plastic, the monthly payments, the commitment that it takes to pay off a credit card and explain the anxiety having debt can cause, its not real- you dont know what it means other than someone thinks its a wise choice not to use them. In my opinion thats not enough. No, people dont learn from others mistakes all the time, but it has to be a rule that makes sense, that has substance.

I am not saying i didnt understand my parents rules, most of them i clearly understood- I am just saying that there are somethings now in life that I wish had been clearer then. Hindsight right? I didnt ever realize that I didnt get it. I didnt get that my thinking was completely off and that this rule (along wiht others) were not just antient sayings, but they needed evaluation.

Anyone else feel like this?