Life's Counsel

In the midst of chaos, remain calm and silent.

Just as fire isn’t extinguished by fire,

peace is not achieved by adding more to the noise.

Do not believe the hype of the world.

What appears to be true is a fad,

created with fleeting taglines and fancy words.

It is alright to like things

but do not be attached to them;

nothing gives more misery

than when you love things and use people

instead of loving people and using things.

Things created by humans

only have value as long as they put value to them.

In reality, they have none.

Even the most valuable can be lost: 

we lose it, or it loses us in death.

Do not profit from somebody else’s work

for the fruits of their sweat are sacred and their   labor blessed;

do not take more than what you need in this life

“For what shall it profit a man, 

if he shall gain the whole world, 

and lose his soul?”

Stay away from excessive politics, 

anything in excess is unhealthy.

Be a person of culture instead,

for while your body is satisfied with food, 

your being and character are nourished not by politics, but creativity.

Your religious belief should be informed by reason. 

Many civilizations were broken,

and lives were drowned in blood because of faith blinded by loyalty.

Love, and its reason to nurture life, is the foundation of all religions.           

All other reasons are false.

Understand even those who don't want to be understood

for a reason you won't understand at the moment. 

Be gentle to them,

for many times in our life we also felt misunderstood and we shut all doors. 

This is empathy in its highest form: understanding without knowing. 

Sharing their feelings in the comforting quietude of silence.

Read more books. 

Be hungry. 

Ignorance is caused by laziness, not by the lack of information.

People are happy with the success of others they barely know 

but are jealous and bitter with those they know since childhood. 

Be a true friend. Celebrate without question and with exhilaration the milestones of your friends.

A simple life offers more peace to your needs

than fortune at hand. 

A good night’s sleep will prove simplicity right.

For the beauty of life is not in the abundance of things, but in the plenitude of love.