I believe in change – and that nothing in the universe is permanent or exist separate from anything else. I believe that no man is an island, but that we are all intrinsically connected with everything and everyone else in this universe. I believe in reincarnation in the sense that our intrinsic energy (or soul if you prefer) have lived passed lives, and that we will live future ones as well until we have learned the lessons we were put in this universe to learn.
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
-R W Emerson
I believe that the life we live is full of irony and paradox – and that it has to be lived and viewed with humor, so don’t take yourself too seriously. I don’t believe that life is black or white – but a palette of million shades of gray and abundant color. I believe that to understand a persons actions and behavior, you first have to understand their history and where they have travelled from. Therefore you should never judge someones character based purely on their actions – however; you do not have to accept – or agree with – everything they say and do.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
-Thoreau
I believe in forgiveness – in forgiving yourself as well as others – and that hate and regret hurts no one but yourself. I believe that forgiving someone does not mean that you make excuses for others behavior or choices, but that you realize that everyone makes misstakes, and as long as they are prepared to show remorse and willingness to learn the world will become a better place. I believe that the greatest and wisest people that ever lived are the ones that suffered the most, because I believe that life is worth little without self-examination, and that you learn most about life, and yourself, when faced with setbacks.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
-R W Emerson
I believe that human beings have unlimited potential. That the limits we have are ones we have created on our own. I believe that we can achieve whatever we want – if we are prepared to work for it with complete passion and dedication. I also believe that we never get anything for free. I believe in free will and that you always have a choice, but that every choice comes with consequences. Hence, I also believe that we have a great responsibility, against ourselves, against others and towards the universe.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.”
-Thoreau
I believe that no one is a complete victim of fate and circumstance. Even if you can not choose the cards that you are dealt, you can still choose what to make of what you have and how you react to what comes your way. I believe that you have an obligation in this life to be of use and value to others. That it is everyones responsibility to try to leave this world a better place than it was when you entered it.
“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.”
-Thoreau
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
-R W Emerson
I believe that the most important things we should teach our children is empathy, compassion and a rock-solid sense of self-worth, because I know first hand what low self-esteem and self-hatred can do to your soul, and I don’t believe that you can love anyone unless you love and respect yourself. I believe that we should treat everyone (including ourselves) with respect and kindness, but never let anyone step on – or take advantage – of you. Compassion does not mean accepting everything – as Dalai Lama once said: ”sometimes the most compassionate thing you can do is hitting someone in the head with a stick to show them the right path towards enlightenment”.
“Be not the slave of your own past – plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.”
-R W Emerson
I believe that we grow when we are challenged. When we are pushed to achieve things that we once thought impossible. I believe that human beings are build to be active, and that being active will give you better health, self-worth, fantastic friends and quality of life. And I believe that humans are meant to spend the majority of their time out doors, close to nature, fresh air and animals, because that will bring mindfulness and peace to your soul. I believe that no matter how big your problems are – they will seem just a tiny bit smaller and a little easier to handle if you go for a walk, a run or a bike ride before trying to solve them.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
-Kirkegaard
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
-Steve Jobs
I believe that we should value the enormous variation we have in peoples personalities – instead of trying to make everyone conform to some rigid notion of ”normality”. I believe in debates. Venting thoughts, ideas and problems is not the same as being judge-mental or close-minded, rather it is a sign of openness and willingness to learn new things. I believe that if people were more eager and curious to learn what they do not yet know, the world would be a much better place to live.
“The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.”
-Hemingway
I believe that beauty can be found in everything, if your eyes and heart are open. But I think most of the time people run through life scared with their eyes closed and hearts sheltered. I believe happiness is found in the little things and that true wealth has nothing to do with money or material possession, but rather is a state of mind that is found with complete contentment in knowing that you need absolutely nothing – because you already have everything. I believe in buddhism and the Tao. I believe in karma. And I believe that the ”I” is not what we think it is and that once we let go of our conception of reality and our place in it, we will not only reach a state of true happiness and contentment, but will also loose our fear.
“When you know that this moment is the Tao, and this moment is considered by itself without past and without future —eternal, neither coming into being nor going out of being—there is nirvana.”
“Your skin does not separate you from the world. It’s a bridge through which the external world flows into you. And you flow into it.”
– Alan Watts
I believe that love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves, but together with other people. I wish that people would remember how short and precious life is – and how quickly it can end – instead of trying to convince themselves that ”there is always tomorrow”. Someday that is no longer true, and I believe that you can never tell the people you love too often how much they mean to you. ”I love you” does not wear out, and the only ”I love you” that you will regret at the end of your life are the ones that were never spoken. I do believe that your life is yours alone. No one can walk it for you – but make sure to let people walk it with you!
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”
-Thoreau
I believe in true soul mates. Souls that you have known before and are destined to meet again. And I believe that you will know in an instant once you meat that person, and there will be no hesitation or second thoughts. Finally, I believe that life is exceptionally rare and beautiful. A gift that we should make the absolute most of by learning who we are and what life is all about…..