Guy Browning publishes a regular How To column in the Guardian Saturday magazine. We particularly loved last week's entry:
People who are about to die generally don't regret the parachute jumps they haven't made (unless they're falling from an aircraft without one). Instead, they regret the love they haven't given or haven't expressed. Generally, the reason they haven't done this is because they've been too full of hate, too in love with themselves or simply too crushed by the business of survival.
The universe is in balance. If it wasn't, it wouldn't exist. Every constituent part of the universe is also in balance, including us. Life, therefore, is a question of balance. On the tightrope of life, the pole we have to balance with always has two sides: light and dark, male and female, good and bad. Acknowledging and understanding both sides is the only way of keeping upright and moving forward.
To get through life requires effort and luck. Generally, the harder you try, the luckier you get - but not always. Sometimes superhuman effort fails and, at other times, absolutely minimal effort succeeds spectacularly. That said, try trying first. Everyone has free will in life, but what happens to you is largely out of your control. We're like a flea on the head of an ox: we may be jumping around merrily, but the overall direction of travel is not really in our hands.
The secret of life is a combination of the combined wisdom of the great thinkers down the ages and the Cub Scout law: be nice to other people and do your best. It doesn't sound very inspiring but, on balance, it's probably right. Remember, too, that there's a reason that the universe is in balance. We don't know what it is, but it's likely to be a lot more impressive than we are.
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