Life is never
perfect, but neither is it as dreadful as many of you believe it to be. I have seen more in my life than some of you, less than most of you, and I have discovered that there are no rules to
happiness. My current outlook came to me after I had passed through the worst years of my life. Years which, looking back, would have been
wonderful if I had been paying attention to the world instead of drowning in self-pity. I discovered a few simple concepts and allowed them to take hold.
1. There are people who have much
harder lives than I do.
2. There are people who have much
easier lives than I do.
3. This always has been, is, and
always will be.
4. Eventually, I will
die and be forgotten.
5.
There is very little I can do to affect this.
I used to fight against the concept that life was unchangeable, and I still do, in that I do not believe in
fate. But anything I accomplish - any memories I imprint in others, any book I write, or war I fight will last for a split-second in the
lifetime of a planet. To some extent, our lives are
preordained in that after 8 trillion years
nothing we do will make us noticeably more memorable than anyone else in the history of the world.
So
let it go.
Let go of your fears and worries, they become
inconsequential in the face of
eternity.
Don't live to stare at your bedroom ceiling and play the worst moments of your life over and over. Live for the smell of a rainy day, for the taste of good coffee, live to smile, and to cry, and to feel that which you can never describe.
Live for the moment everything around you fades until all that is left is the one bright pinpoint that truly matters to you.
"
Perspective is everything"
This phrase has defined my life, my search to understand what
humanity means. This writeup won't change your life. In all probability, many of you will think I am stupid, or that my
perspective is too
dissimilar from your own to make this information relevant to you. One day, I hope, something will change you, and you will understand the
true depth of these staggeringly simple ideas.