David A. Levy - Life Is A 4-Letter Word; Laughing And Learning Through 40 Life Lessons

Critical Acclaim for Life Is a 4-Letter Word

David Levy has nailed what it means to glean all the greatness out of lifes masterful lessons.

Kristine Carlson , co-author of the Dont Sweat the Small S tuff books

Professor David Levys book is insightful, profound, funny, and thoroughly original. Meaning in life is everywhere, he reminds us, and whether it changes us profoundly or sails right over our heads, its nice to know it s there.

Lewis Colick , screenwriter ( October Sky , Ghosts of Mississi ppi , etc.)

David Levys warm, funny and wise reflections on his lifes journey offers both comfort and hard-won advice for readers looking to improve their o wn lives.

Dennis Palumbo , therapist, screenwriter ( My Favorite Year ), and author ( Daniel Rinaldi Mysteries )

Levy has masterfully gleaned wisdom of the ages and packed them into bite-sized and thoroughly enjoyable morsels of literary delight.

Tom Greening , Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology

Dr. Levys brilliant, touching, and humorous collection of stories showcases his well-honed, multi-faceted skills as a storyteller, educator, and psychologist. Readers will delight at the relatable snapshots of people, relationships, and events and find wonderful treasures of expertly distilled learning points embedde d within.

Judy Ho , board certified clinical and forensic neuropsychologist, associate professor, and author ( Stop Self -Sabotage )

Meticulously crafted, these engaging, funny, and often moving vignettes perfectly set up the brief but potent shots of distilled wisdom tha t follow.

Drew Erhardt , psychologist, codeveloper of the Moodnotes and Mo odKit apps

A tour de force of wisdom nestled in a pithy, enjoyable and profound package.

Louis Cozolino , author ( Why Therapy Works and Timeless )

This is a very special book that I predict will find thousands of eager readers. The stories combine David Levys wonderful sense of humor with insights and wisdom about life. It is well written and a kick to read!

David N. Elkins , psychologist and author ( The Human Elements of Psyc hotherapy )

Life is short. You can either suffer the pitfalls of lifes lessons on your own or you can learn those lessons by reading Dr. Levys sharp-witted and insight ful book.

Marilee Bradford , producing director, The Film Mus ic Society

Chicken soup, with a few dashes of Tabasco, and laced with scintillati ng humor.

Eric Shiraev , cultural psychologist, George Mason University

Also by Dr. Dav id A. Levy

Tools of Critica l Thinking

Cross-Cultural Psychology

Family Therapy (Russian tr anslation)

Copyright 2019 by Dr. David A. Levy

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover & Layout Design: Elina Diaz

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Life Is a 4-Letter Word: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2019948609

ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-154-4 , (ebook) 978-1-64250-155-1

BISAC category code SELF-HELP / Personal Growth / Happiness

Printed in the United States of America

To my mom and dad, who are in every one of these essays even the ones th ey arent.

To my kids Jacob a nd Briana.

To Mary Jane at long last, true love.

And to the memory of Z orro Levy.

Table of Contents

Foreword

David Levy has nailed what it means to glean all the greatness out of lifes masterful lessons in his new book, Life Is a 4-Letter Word . Laugh along with him, as I did, while drinking in these warm-hearted anecdotal stories that will help you keep life in pe rspective.

Kristine Carlson , co-auth or of the
Dont Sweat the Small S tuff books

Prologue

I can still remember the antiseptic smell of the doctors office and the feel of the cold metal examination table underneath my naked six-year-old legs. My white jockey shorts provided the only shroud of protection and dignity I had left, barely buffering me from utter humiliation. My mom sat close by, patient but helpless.

Of course, every kid hates shots. But I especially hated shots. The mere thought of that cold, shiny, spiky tool of torture nearly paralyzed me with terror. But I was also a very verbal kid. And when I was anxious, Id talk. A lot . It was my best defense in fact, frequently my onl y defense.

The nurses name was Gabe. I know that because I can vividly picture that ominous name embroidered in dark red stitching on her crisp white uniform. Outside of the office, Gabe was probably a decent enough woman. But when armed with that wicked weapon, Nurse Gabe was nothing more to me than a heartless bureaucrat, whose only function was to inflict her merciless will on me before moving on to the next hapl ess child.

The door flung open with a thud, followed by Nurse Gabe, holding The Shot with the nonchalance of a mailman merely delivering the next package. Instantly, I felt that familiar raw panic coldly surging through my tiny veins. She made her approach, ready to stab me with her bayonet. I counter-attacked with a barrage of questions: No, wait! What kind of shot is it? Wait! Is it a booster shot? Wait, wait! Is it a tetanus shot? Nurse Gabe turned to me and said simply but firmly: David, you can ask me all the questions you want. But youre going to get the shot .

She had me. Checkmate. I realized there was nothing more I could do or say. I had run out of escape routes. I reluctantly offered her my arm, wrenched my head away, scrunched my eyes, held my breath, and prayed it would be over quicklywhich, to my surprise, it act ually was.

Dont get me wrong, it was really bad. But not nearly as bad as the gut-wrenching agony of all that waiting . When theres no getting around something, its best just to go through it. And when its inevitable, the sooner t he better.

Although my experience with The Shot happened nearly sixty years ago, it still lives inside me. And the lesson I took from it has carried me through decades of lifes challenges: Why put off the inevitable? In a very profound sense, Nike had it right: Ju st Do It.

The power of this lesson inspired me to start collecting other stories from my life that captured some important moral. Whenever Id recall one, Id grab whatever was handy a Post-It note, a scrap of paper, a napkin and scribble down a few key words as a reminder:

what do w omen want?

beat by a computer at t ic-tac-toe

press button for be tter sound

you are NOT going to D isneyland!

the booby pri ze of life

One by one, I would place them into a folder labeled LIFE LESSONS , stash it in my filing cabinet, and then get back to doing whatever it was I was doing.