Mere Old Age

The difference between
An immature child
Versus
An immature adult

Is that one has an excuse
And the other does  not

And when confronted
With doubts to their maturity

Children will not deny it
Whereas adults will vehemently
Oppose such notion

Inasmuch as adults so often
Act so much like children there
Really is nothing that differentiates

Adults from children
In terms of maturity
Other than mere old age

Be Mindful Of The Possibility

What are the chances
Of something bad happening
Unexpectedly?

Since most bad things
Happen unexpectedly

The chance of it happening
Unexpectedly is quite high

But what if you expect
Something bad to happen
Then what is the chance of that
Happening when you expect it?

Since most bad things happen
Unexpectedly
The chance of that happening
When you expect it is quite low

So if you want something
Bad not to happen
The best way to prevent it
From happening

Is to expect it
Or at the very least
Be mindful of the possibility

And trust the Lord

Back To Paradise

People often refer to
The grand scheme of things
To explain and reassure themselves
That nothing that happens in this life
On this planet to human beings or other
Is significant enough to be worthwhile
In the Grand Scheme of things

As if they know what
That Scheme Grandeur is
Always referring to it
Having no idea

If there was such a scheme
That governs the entire universe
Entrusting meaning to its existence
And everything in it

It certainly would not entail
Humans spending entire life
Working to make money
To eat, find shelter, and clothing

Partying, drinking
Indulging in pleasure
Seeking fame, power, and prestige
No
Certainly it would not entail
Wars and suffering

The grand scheme
If there ever was one
The one that still is
Is for us to find our way
Back to paradise

Yes. Feel The Force

There are some advices
That should never be given
To apply in all situations in life
Especially to young people
And children
Who may not know better
Than to follow the advice of adults
Or to perceive them as national dogma
Unbending truth

One that is glaringly detrimental
More often than beneficial
Is the phrase
"Never give up!"
Which sounds like a great advice
Preached at any and all situations
Regardless of who, what, or how
"Never give up!"

But not everyone has the common
Sense of reality vs delusion
To take it with grain of salt
And give up without loss of dignity
At the right time

Some people in fact perhaps majority
Take this advice literally and with all
Devotion of heart and soul
And actually never give up
Never accepting failure as an outcome

It is one thing
To never give up knowing
The goal will never be achieved
But pursuing the goal nonetheless
For the sake of doing their best

But quite another thing
To never accept failure as an outcome
Despite having zero chance of succeeding
In perpetual denial and delusion

At best this will lead to pride
Having never given up
And at worst
End up feeling like a failure
With good chance of depression
Having wasted entire life
Pursuing a goal that had zero chance
From the onset

Never give up!
Is a great advice for many
But without any footnote
Or disclaimer
Is a dangerous advice
For the rest

Next up is one that is just a marketing tool
For selling a brand
But totally misleading out of context
"Just do it!"
From which Nike has thrived
And made millions perhaps billions
Selling any and all types of
Sports related merchandise

Generation X and Y
And everyone else before and after
Have ingrained in their brains
These three words
Just do it!

The only problem being
That "it"
Refers to everything under the sun
Not just sports
As Nike has intended....or not

Hesitant about sky diving?
Just do it
Hesitant about cheating?
Just do it
Hesitant about doing drugs?
Just do it

The context to which this phrase
Can be applied is countless
And although it would seem totally
Irresponsible to do whatever

Not that everyone will do everything
But when faced with a dilemma
On the fence hesitant to do either or
A momentary recollection of this
"Just do it" phrase
Might just be enough to make one
Tip over and just do it
Whatever that "it" may be

Just do it
Really?
Not even considering what "it" is?
But people have embraced the phrase
As an encouragement to do it
Again totally irresponsible
And dangerous

Finally but quite certainly not the least
Is the phrase spoken by Bruce Lee
In the movie Enter The Dragon
And by Qui-gon Jin aka Liam Neeson
In the movie Star Wars
"Don't think, feel!"

Again a great advice
That only makes sense
When you don't have time to think
Before the next punch or Kung-fu kick
Or fighting for your life in a jedi duel

But out of context it amounts
To nothing more than
Don't think too much
Just enjoy the moment
Go with the flow

The concept embraced
And reiterated numerous times
At all situations of secular activities
To justify and encourage others
Don't think. Feel!
Yes. Feel the force.

Together the three phrases
Never give up!
Just do it!
Don't think. Feel!
Are spectacularly irresponsible
If taken out of context or literally
Making up a perfect recipe
For disaster