The Flight of the Rocketman

Disclaimers:

Just because I love with all my being doesn't mean that my love is good. It just means that it is overwhelming and encompassing. I have to find someone who is willing to go under, someone who is willing to take it all in, and then give back.

Listen to music. You will discover that someone out there knows exactly how you are feeling. You are not alone.

Tragedy is beautiful. Sadness and pain is beautiful. But it is only beautiful once the moment has passed and you realise what it is you are feeling, then begin to move on; rebuild the hope and faith that things will get better. But if you remain in the moment, if you hold on to the pain and the sadness, that is just pathetic. Then it is truly sadness without beauty. What is beautiful is the picking up of the pieces after what is lost tears you apart; the strength to move on and to continue to believe. What is beautiful is how it has changed you.

I think tragedy is beautiful because it is a measure on how much we valued something that was lost. Isn't the fact that we gave something so much value a wonderful thing?

We are the heroes of our lives. We should be the most important person in our lives. But since that applies to everyone, we should be willing to give space for the others to act out their adventures. As we are protagonists in our own lives, we are merely supporting cast in theirs. Learn the balance and you will find harmony and understanding.

There is nothing more powerful than acceptance. Acceptance is freedom.

You are responsible and accountable for all of your own actions. There is no one else to be blamed for what happens in your life. Own up to it. Be accountable.

Everything beautiful and ugly in life and in being human can be found in art. Always spend a bit of your life with art - be it watching movies, reading books, listening to music or observing paintings and photographs.

Never make promises. There has never been a promise I have been able to keep. Since everything changes, so are the conditions to which somethings can no longer hold on to. State your intentions and keep them for as long as you can. That is better than a promise, it raises no expectations and it is more honest.

From An Empire of Women (by Karen Shepard): Love is not a feeling. Love is seeing.

Taken from a forwarded e-mail: just because somebody doesn't love you as much as you do, doesn't mean they didn't love you with all their heart. If it is something I learned, some people can only manage so much. Never compare. Accept and be grateful. If that is all they can give, be glad they gave so much.

Everybody deserves the same amount of love. Whether you are a beggar in the street or the president of the most powerful nation of the world; a criminal or a priest, we all deserve love. We were all created equal.

Love has the power and the capacity to change people. I have seen it. I embrace it.

From Marianne Moore's poem What Are Years: "...satisfaction is a lowly thing, how pure a thing is joy." Is that not so?

Happiness is a conscious state of mind. It is the act of being thankful for all that you have and all that can be. It is an act of gratitude.

Happiness is accepting the fact that you did the best that you could and that there are somethings you cannot change. It is accepting the fact that you met with resistance and that you did the best that you could and that you were able to change things. Since happiness is acceptance, happiness is also freedom.

Never stop learning. Never think that you will stop learning. Always be ready to learn. Since people change and everything changes, we must be ready to discover the new ways in which we see the world and ourselves.

Travel when the opportunity arises. Take it. There is no better way to learn more about yourself when you are somewhere unfamiliar. You will discover things about yourself you have never thought possible. In traveling, you will realise your own resilience.

From Kurt Vonnegut: do one thing, everyday, that scares you.

Everything ends. Just be sure that you were able to make the most of it when you had it. No regrets.

*** Just because I believe in these things, doesn't mean they are easy for me to do. I am constantly trying to apply these to my way of life everyday. I strive to be a better person to myself and to others. One day, I'll be able to say that this is how I live my life. But right now, I'm still trying. It isn't easy but aren't the things most worth it, the most difficult thing to do? Now, this is the true disclaimer.