Since people like to post their philosophical musings on Facebook in the hope that er... well, I'm not sure what they hope the effect will be. But always one to participate in futility and a great believer in pointlessness, I thought I should outline a philosophy of life that all should follow, or at least take note of before purchasing a self-help book or booking a seat for some motivational speaker's extremely expensive course. I am of course available for de-motivational talks if the money is obscene enough, though there is always the chance that I might not turn up.
And so... here it is "De-Motivate and Pack It In!"
There is a conspiracy, promulgated by Americans mostly I suspect, but it is too fashionable to blame them for everything and I am nothing if not perverse, so whoever is behind it matters not a jot, only that conspiracy there is and it must stop! The conspirators foist upon people the bizarre idea that they must get focussed, think positively and follow their dream. What I say is wake up, look at the big picture and get real.
Some times better is not good enough. Often who you know counts for more than anything else, except for who you are, which counts for a lot more. And what is worse, what you dreamt of when you were a mere stripling, looks pretty stupid when you become an adult. The moment mostly passes and very rarely happens again.
Spending a lifetime working to be ready for an opportunity that no longer manifests itself because society has moved on, technology has changed the game, and the people you wish to impress are dead, defunct, or at least of mistaken consequence, is no way to spend your time. Especially when there's so much good stuff on television. Which brings me to the ancient wisdom of the dipsticks and the terminally insane, which goes something like things change, nothing is permanent, least of all your mind. Mostly toothless and marijuana addled sages with dreadlocks and gnarled finger nails utter such profundities before bumming a few dollars, but weirdly in a cack handed way they are right.
Turning on, tuning in, and dropping out will most likely give you diarrhea, bad breath and destroy all possibilities of getting it on with an attractive member of the opposite sex, so that's not what I mean by de-motivate and pack it in. But following the dream is usually so horribly delusional that it has the same effect. Far better to get educated, get some experience in the arts of earning a living, and making good judgements. It is, dear reader, not the ability to dream that is in short supply, but the ability to step back and assess which dream is feasible and which merely a crazy idea.
As a lover of crazy, you can see how hard won this insight is. But in short, everything matters, but not much, and the life cycle dictates a need to constantly re-asses your situation as it moves rapidly through the seven ages, or even fourteen ages, or just plain hours. All one can plan for the future are that you must be independent by the time you leave your parents, and you must have somewhere stable to bring up the family, or by pass that beat, and you must take into account the time when your health gives up on you. Depressing though the thought may be, it is even more depressing to find you can't afford to have your teeth fixed or worse.
And money, or capital, whatever people tell you, makes you happy for it saves the day and gives you the opportunity to take a risk and follow that dream, or a new much better and well thought out dream. And that is the point. Stand back, re-assess, get off a road to no-where, and get a new dream. And while you are in the process of perfecting the essential achievement of your life, make sure you have the cash and connections to enable you to achieve it, or enough of it to realise it is not quite what it's cracked up to be. So it has to be fun while you are doing it because the end goal is always a let down.
In the end, you see, you get old, forgetful, cranky, and weary and unless you are stinking rich and wield power in society, people will think you disgusting and smelly and to be avoided. If you have the whammy though, they'll treat you like a god and think your senility to be wisdom. Somewhere in the maelstrom you may actually have achieved something, but it won't last. The great black hole will swallow it all up, if plain old indifference has not buried it in the sands of time by the time the heat death of the universe is imminent. There is a debate whether space/time is flat or saddle backed, but the truth is it is in the shape of a smirk.
In short, lighten up but don't fuck about!