That you were born
and you will die.

That you will sometimes love enough
and sometimes not.

That you will lie
if only to yourself.

That you will get tired.

That you will learn most from the situations
you did not choose.

That there will be some things that move you
more than you can say.

That you will live
that you must be loved.

That you will avoid questions most urgently in need of
your attention.

That you began as the fusion of a sperm and an egg
of two people who once were strangers
and may well still be.

That life isn’t fair.
That life is sometimes good
and sometimes better than good.

That life is often not so good.

That life is real
and if you can survive it, well,
survive it well
with love
and art
and meaning given
where meaning’s scarce.

That you will learn to live with regret.
That you will learn to live with respect.

That the structures that constrict you
may not be permanently constraining.

That you will probably be okay.

That you must accept change
before you die
but you will die anyway.

So you might as well live
and you might as well love.
You might as well love.
You might as well love.

The facts of life by Denise Druce. All of the above, plus:

You alone are responsible for your happiness.

You teach people how to treat you.

Doing the easy thing makes life hard. Doing the hard thing makes life easy(er).

Stay soft when life gets hard. I call it the ‘soft edge of the hard place’.

Seeing others, truly seeing them, will open just about any door.

Allowing yourself to be seen, as you are, is the way to real connection.

Forgiveness is the magic ticket to a life freedom and joy.

Letting go of what others think of you is the most liberating thing you can do.

Just a few random thoughts on a sunny Spring afternoon.