“The worst thing to call someone is crazy; it’s dismissive.”
—Dave Chappelle
In my book, there are three grand essentials to happiness in this life. One, something to do; two, something to love; and three, something to hope for.
Something to do and a sense of purpose is what life is all about; it makes sense. Even though we are self-aware, we never really know why we are here. We can contemplate ’til the day we expire but we will never truly know. Not even in death can we be guaranteed an answer. The only control you do have is trying to figure out who you are and what you are about, as nobody can tell you who you are. You and only you can figure it out, and be as true to that as possible.
Something to love falls under an umbrella of many different words, passion, drive, and motivation to get up, get out, and get gone. Yes, that thing that drives us to do whatever it is that we do, to live. Be it making one’s mark on the world through financial security, power, procreation, or just being the best at what one does. That might be why the phrase was created, “A person with nothing to live for is the most dangerous person in the world.” Which one could surmise that when someone has nothing left to love, not even themselves, that the rules of self government are removed. Maybe that’s why the greatest trumps over adversity have such a strong tie to passionate unmatched love.
Hope is said to be humankinds’ greatest creation as it is the last line of defense before one falls into total peril. When one loses all sense of hope the last tear has failed. Self preservation is longer instilled; the root of despair is the absence of hope. On the flip side, hope can be the floating branch in the rapid waters of life. The hope of success, to be greater than oneself can push a person beyond her greatest expectations. Hope can also be tied into one attitude as it has been linked that weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
So maybe when we are in doubt about life we can fall back on these three principals. Einstein was said to have a sign that hung in his office at Princeton that read, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
