" On Your Own "

In life there come along some rare chances when you can be yourself. Stripped of all accessories, free from the false identities surrounding your individuality.

A good example is the Army training period.
In a mess hall, things like your family, your education, your profession, your bank account, your social status, ... don't mean
anything anymore.

You are just your self.
Your real you.
Your true, original, inner you.
Your feet get back on earth.
You get to know yourself better:
Your often-overlooked weak points, your long-forgotten potentials.
You - have to - try to define your relations with others once again.
Based on the realities this time.
And you - can - try to make the best of what you really are.
By just remembering that you are an INDIVIDUAL.

And with that privilege comes the responsibility:
You - and only you - are responsible for all the choices you make.
Not your family. Not your friends. Not the society. Not the government.
No-one.
Just you yourself.

And what's more, to fulfill that, you are all on your own.
No-one has to - or even is able to - carry the load which is meant to be yours.

It's your choice after all.
You make it alone.
You do it alone.
So, consider your own ideals. And mind no-one else. Absolutely no-one.
And once you've come to the right decision yourself, don't hesitate.

All this makes you essential and irreplaceable.
And you will be a unique individual, provided of course, that you live up to the name.

" Anything Goes "

What day is it?
Sunday?
Then you are free.
How wonderful!
What are your plans?
Out with friends?
Great!
How about tomorrow?
You are working?
Why?
It's Monday?
Can't it still be Sunday?
What are you laughing at?

You are right.
It can't be Sunday for two following days.
Same as:
It can't be April longer than a month.
or,
It's Y2K only once.

And that's the beauty of it all; The Rule of Change:
" Everything has an expiration date."
And that includes everything.
Only problem is the expiration date is not always printed on the label.

So, never ever depend on anything, as if you can have it forever.
Now is all the time you got. Not even one moment more.
Do what you want with it.

And also,
Never ever lose hope.
Because misfortunes have that expiration date too.

And remember, there is always a different, all new day tomorrow.
However deep-in trouble you are, you can't even imagine the surprises each new day has in closet for you.
Only thing you have to do is to welcome them.

" All Alone "

Have you seen "Meet Joe Black"?

In this inspiring movie, Brad Pit is the angle of death, tired of being an overseer of other people's lives for all the time.
He doesn't want to live alone anymore.
He decides to taste a little bit of human relation delicacies.
And so he does.

There is a scene, in which he is talking about his love to an elderly lady who knows who he really is.
She urges him to let go of - as she sees it - his childish game. And go back to where he belongs. And do what he is meant to do.
He says he doesn't want to go back because he is tired of being alone.
" But I not lonely here. Somebody want me here.", he says.

Her answer is a brilliant piece of wisdom. A real masterpiece:

" It nice it happen to you.
It like you came to Cat Island and you had a holiday, sun didn't burn you red, just brown, sleep no mosquito eat you, rum no pound you head nex' day.
But trut' is, dat bound to happen, you stay long enough.
So tak dat nice picture home wi' you, but don' be fooled.
We lonely here mostly, too. If we lucky, we got some nice pictures."

That's a reality.
We are all alone.

Nobody wants you for your own sake.
Even a mother with her purest love, making all the hugest sacrifices, is striving to quench her own maternal thirst.
Let alone the others.

And everyone will leave you alone, someday.
Sooner or later.
Deliberately or otherwise.
But it's bound to happen.
However close you stick together with your dearests, there is always a Mr Death to separate you for good.

And once you are out of sight, you are - somehow or other - out of mind.
Don't expect otherwise. That's the way it is.
We are all made like this.

If you bring yourself to accept these facts as normal characteristics of human relations in everyday life, you will suffer much less.
Because you've had no other expectations in the first place.

You'll also have a clearer insight into people's minds and a better understanding of their behavior.
Because now, you can climb their back and look at the world through their eyes, with no prejudice.

And you surely agree, that's a priceless privilege.