So what is the secret ? That elusive secret that we all search for ? The secret to understanding life. There are many opinions. Mine might surprise you.
So what is the secret ? The secret to living a good life? The secret to being happy? The secret to being content? The secret to success?
Let's start with the basics. Those few things we can all agree on . First we are all born and we all die. Second none of us can choose our parents. These are accepted facts. I'm not debating or denying any spiritual theories or opinions just what is known and proven in our real world. That period of time between birth and death becomes the recorded history of our life based on the combination of our decisions and the consequences of those decisions or choices intertwined with random circumstances and events that happen or take place during our lifetime. Those things we don't control. All this combined becomes our life or the legacy we leave behind. The record of our life here on earth remembered or recorded as the case maybe.
A wise man once said to me, "We are all the total sum of our past experiences." That is so true ! That is why every life and thus every person is unique. There are many circumstances in life we have no control over. What makes us unique and individual are the different choices we make while navigating those circumstances. Random choices as simple as a fork in the road. Each road leads to a different destination. From this I would conclude that it would be a mistake to stay on the wrong road if it doesn't lead you to the right destination. Are you on the right road?
You see it's your life and only you can decide. Everyone's life is a chaotic combination of right and wrong choices mixed in with random events we have no control over. The secret is that "There is no Secret." All you can do is all you can do. Learn from your mistakes. Don't dwell on the past and enjoy the moment because only the moment is real. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift that's why it's called the present!
Some good advice. You are right, I did not choose my parents. Fortunately, they were young and they were not bigoted, but spent their entire lives among similar people from the same area and picked up their values and their way of living. Their lives were long and basically uncontroversial. They had many friends and enjoyed a very long retirement of playing games: golf, bowling, softball, fishing, some travel… All at a leisurely pace. They use their assets to live on until they were quite old. They were conspicuous consumers, constantly buying new things and throwing out the old.
They gave me the gift of thrift and the gift of openness to new ideas. From that I learned how to be very frugal and yet live well while limiting my use of resources. I'm giving away much of the wealth that I have saved. I'm very interested in saving the wild parts of our world that do not deserve to be exploited and destroyed just to make my life better than my parents had. I don't want to leave a dirty nest for my great nieces and nephews to have to endure and clean up.
They gave me the gift of thrift and the gift of openness to new ideas. From that I learned how to be very frugal and yet live well while limiting my use of resources. I'm giving away much of the wealth that I have saved. I'm very interested in saving the wild parts of our world that do not deserve to be exploited and destroyed just to make my life better than my parents had. I don't want to leave a dirty nest for my great nieces and nephews to have to endure and clean up.
Ron