Facts of life

Dear Son
Here is an interesting email that I got referring to facts of life. One thing which you will notice is that this is quite brutal. As you would know, i am an incurable optimist and dreamer, wishing impossible wishes and dreaming impossible dreams. In terms of challenges, son, I have rarely come across anything that I couldn't do if I put my mind to it. But there are some limitations definitely, like my naval career due to my medical issues etc. etc. But these facts of life are interesting if brutal. Worth remembering son, because this provides you with rules which you can live with. I wont disagree with anything that's written here. Lets see, first the rules and then i will note my views on these rules which you can ignore if you wish. But its surprising how many people do not believe in these rules. That's because people don't know themselves. If you know yourself, then you will be one in a million.

• Life is not fair.
• No one is exempt from death.
• Physics rules the universe and biology rules life.
• The universe does not care.
• The only constant in life is change.
• There is always a choice.
• Wishing never makes it so.
• A person can't exceed their limits.
• A person is responsible for their own happiness.
• It is impossible to change the character of another.

So my views.

• Life is not fair. Indeed its not. And never expect it to be fair. You can be fair to others, but don't expect things to be fair. Kids die. Innocents are destroyed, earthquakes happen. People are left without jobs and are poor. We have to deal with it, no whining. Nobody said that life is fair.
• No one is exempt from death.Another brutal rule, but straightforward. I know when we are young, we don't expect death to happen, but it does, son, and I have experienced it first hand way too many times to be surprised.
• Physics rules the universe and biology rules life. It does indeed, fairly straight forward. The sun doesn't rise in the west and we are, at end of the day, animals with a thin veneer of civilisation. So when push comes to shove, the biological imperatives will take over.
• The universe does not care. This is a follow-up from the first one. The universe is a big old place, we are a tiny piece in it.
• The only constant in life is change. Now this is something that i life and breathe. Never expect anything to remain constant, nothing, everything changes, son.
• There is always a choice. Yep, there is always a choice, question is, whether you are happy to pay for the choices.
• Wishing never makes it so. Wishing never makes it so, but wishes combined with dedication, passion, energy and enthusiasm will make it so.
• A person can't exceed their limits. Recognise your limits son, know what you don't want to do or what you cant do, and you will be more successful.
• A person is responsible for their own happiness. Absolutely right. People are usually the cause of their own unhappiness. If you are happy with what you have, if your desires are controlled, you will be happy. But you will frequently see people blaming others for their own unhappiness. That is utter bollocks. You have a choice, remember? You have a choice and since you have a choice, you also have a choice to be happy or unhappy. Personally speaking, always go for the bit that makes you happy, staying unhappy, moaning, whining is boring and people get turned off by people who moan and whine. Be happy, stay happy, keep others happy.
• It is impossible to change the character of another. Oh! yes, character cannot be changed on the say so of anybody else. But people still try, lol.

Hope these help, Son. I know you are smart and you think, I know you will be a success and I love you and am proud of you for it.
Love
Baba