january 03, 1999

eternal truths

  • this is it
  • there are no hidden meanings
  • you can't get there from here, and besides, there's no place else to go
  • we are already dying, and we will be dead for a long time
  • nothing lasts
  • there is no way of getting all you want
  • you can't have anything unless you let go of it
  • there is no particular reason why you lost out
    on some things
  • the world is not necessarily just! being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune
  • you have a responsibility to do your best
    nonetheless
  • it is a random universe to which we bring meaning
  • you don't really control anything
  • you can't make anyone love you
  • no one is any stronger or weaker than anyone else
  • everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable
  • there are no great men
  • if you have a hero, look again: you have diminished yourself in some way
  • everyone lies, cheats, pretends (yes, you too, and most certainly i myself)
  • all evil is potential vitality in need of transformation
  • all of you is worth something, if you will only own it
  • progress is an illusion
  • evil can be displaced but never eradicated, as all problems
  • yet it is necessary to keep on struggling toward solutions
  • childhood is a nightmare
  • but it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no-one
    -else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up
  • each of us is ultimately alone
  • the most important thing, each man must do for himself
  • love is not enough, but it sure helps
  • we have only ourselves, and one another
  • that may not be too much, but that's all there is
  • how strange, that so often, it all seems worth it
  • we must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge
  • all important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data
  • yet we are responsible for everything we do
  • you can run, but you can't hide
  • it is most important to run out of scapegoats
  • we must learn the power of living with our helplessness
  • all of the significant battles are waged within the self
  • you are free to do whatever you like
  • you need only to face the consequences
  • what do you know... for sure... anyway?
  • learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again...

derived from Asian philosophies by Sheldon B. Kopp

 



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