Living in the now is all one can do. For in the end, everyone goes away. Sanity requires a contrary thought, no, belief. The body may remain but the essence will disappear. It may be abrupt or it may happen slowly and quietly until one day you stand there, alone, baffled that you didn't see it earlier.

Live in the now. Seek balance within and only allow others to add seasoning to the flavor of life, for only you can provide the main course. Understand that the valleys of pain and sorrow are in all our futures, but so are the peaks of joy and happiness. Do not be fooled by the mirage of stability instilled by others. It changes, everything changes. You.... will change.

Expecting pain is not pessimistic, it is realistic. The wound will be less damaging if you are prepared for it. Healing will come faster once you accept you are injured. The problem, one of which I have no solution, is how to maintain feeling after injury, healing, injury, healing, injury, healing. I believe, as of this moment, that your ability to feel after each injury is diminished, incrementally and permanently.

Accept who you are, more-so, who you aren't. Be satisfied with that. If you race with the rats, even if you lead, you will lose. The only way to win is to not race. Understand what is truly important to you. Then follow that, do not give up on it or let anything get in the way, for if you do, you lose your ability to control your happiness. Others can not make you happy, they can only make the taste of happiness sweeter.

Yet, we are human and as such, flawed. Thus, I stand here in this valley, unbalanced and searching far and wide for a mountain top, a peak. But all I can see is that, in the end, everyone goes away.