Do you fancy something....

....of a novelty.  A brave new world, for instance? A better society? A fairer, kinder, more enlightened future? Or shall we just carry on as normal, carping at and criticising one another? Increasing intolerance? Perpetrating prejudice? 

We cannot ever expect to alter the attitudes of others. We can, though, adjust our own. 

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.   (Rabindranath Tagore)

If you keep looking....

....over your shoulder, you will see whatever is threatening to sneak up on you from behind. You won't, though, be alert to any danger that lies ahead. We live in a world full of stable doors that have all been locked, long after their various horses have bolted. Meanwhile, new difficulties, as yet unlegislated for, wait to arise. 

As with problems, so with opportunities. Why plough the same old tired furrow, when a new one can be dug. Go exploring. 

Look back and smile on perils past   (Walter Scott)

Don't push your luck....

....That's what people say. But are they are right? A gentle push can create momentum where none might otherwise have developed. It is possible to push your luck too far, but there is a greater risk in not pushing it far enough. Ideally, though, you don't want to push your luck, you want to put yourself into a position in which your luck can push you. 

You want to be open, flexible and ready to roll with an opportunity if or when it arises.

Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.  (Andre Gide) 

You can buy most things....

....over the internet these days. Strangely, though, it is still not possible to purchase items or services designed to leave you feeling fed up. Why? Because such things are freely available and in plentiful supply. You don't even have to go out and get them. Give them half a chance and they will deliver themselves to your door. 

You may be shown many offers for a selection of reasons to feel anxious, angry, agitated or aggrieved. You are perfectly entitled, though, to reject them all.

Freedom is from within  (Frank Lloyd Wright)

You can't have everything....

....you want but, then, nor can anyone else. Anyway, thankfully, the reverse is also true. You can't have everything you don't want, none of us can. No matter how hard-done-by we may feel, there will always be areas of our life that deserved to be savoured and celebrated.

We all have gifts that nobody can take from us. Assets for which we should be ever grateful. What stops us from recognising these? Wanting something we can't have!

Never cut what you can untie.  (Joseph Joubert)

Why do we sleep?...

....Think of the hours that are wasted across the globe, everyday, in this activity. Does sleeping generate any wealth? Does it make a contribution to the Gross Domestic Product? Why, it doesn't even have a social advantage! Only the manufacturers of beds and pillows can possibly profit from it. Surely, it ought to be banned. 

Well, no, not really, but I hope you take my point. Not everything in life has to be practical - or pay for itself.

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.  (John Dewey)

Why don't we all....

....live forever? Because none of us wants to. Probably, there's some kind of mechanism embedded in our DNA. It enables our eternal existence but only on condition that we never drop our desire for it. The moment we say, even briefly, even in jest, that we are sick of this world - or of ourselves - we surrender our divine right to immortality. 

And what a jolly good job we do. Can you imagine how excruciatingly dull that would be? What makes life fun is that it is not forever. Make the most of yours.

Be happy for this moment.  This moment is your life.  (Omar Khayyam)