What's the best advice someone ever gave you?

My best friend gave me the two best pieces of advice in my life.

1. One time, I commented on how this guy I didn't care for very much always looked mad, annoyed, affected, too cool for school, and generally unpleasant. My best friend said to me, "Maybe that's how you always look to him." Since that lovely comment from my dear friend, instead of focusing on how people are acting towards me, I try to think if perhaps it is a reflection of how they perceive me. I have made a lot more friends since this fateful day.

2. As my best friend and I were crossing the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Spain/Morocco, my friend, who had a lot of time to think because in typical fashion I was able to sleep the whole way and she was wide awake, had a nature-inspired revelation that I think about a lot. She noticed how beautiful the clouds were but also thought about how they served such an important purpose in giving us water/life. She said it made her think about how God made things not only to have a function but to be beautiful. Clouds didn't have to be beautiful to serve their purpose, but they are. I suppose having purpose is important to life, but if I lose the beauty in my life for the sake of some purpose, I wonder how Godly that is.

She's a smart gal.