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One day, we all have to go. You know that. Some days, it’s in the back of your mind. Other days, you don’t bother to think about it. For most people, the subject is unpleasant. But the issue is your existence—you being alive. What does that mean to you?

People everywhere know they want to be happy, to be content, to feel good. This is our nature.

We seek equilibrium. Yet the storms in our lives can be difficult. When a storm outside comes, we seek shelter. We don’t say,

“This is the perfect time; I’m going to go out for a walk in\nthe storm now.”

We know we need the equilibrium. There are certain things that work for you, and certain things that don’t. Feeling good works. Feeling bad doesn’t.

When you are feeling bad, you want to get out of that situation. But you never get bored with feeling good. This is your nature. Are you in synch with your nature? Do you try to nurture a good feeling and perpetuate it as much as possible? Or do you carry around a pocketful of band-aids?

A pocketful of band-aids means: “I’m not going to be conscious or perpetuate happiness in my life. Instead, I will do things unconsciously and when I get hurt, I will simply pull out a band-aid and get through it."When you don’t listen to your own fundamental needs, something will happen and it won’t be pleasant.

What is pleasant is when the priority of your life is acknowledged and your heart begins to fill with gratitude.

You are alive!

Gather your strengths, not your weaknesses.

What are your strengths? Your strengths are consciousness, kindness, understanding, appreciation, and love.

When you walk with these, the outcome is beautiful. Every second you spend with the beauty inside of you liberates you. You feel free.

There is no promise life will last forever. But you have the potential to experience true and unconditional love. And that resides in your heart. When you experience that, you begin to live.

Life seems too short, doesn’t it? It would be nice if you could make all your mistakes, get it all together, show up somewhere, and say, “Okay, I’ve figured it out. I’m ready.”But it doesn’t work like that. We’re given some time, and we don’t know how much.

In the beginning, we’re not aware of responsibilities, about right and wrong, about being human. But we have a thirst—to be happy—whatever that means. As a child, the level of optimism is at an all-time high. Whatever happened yesterday happened, but today is today. We call this innocence, and this state is beautiful.

Then you go through the period of learning, the alphabet—A, B, Cs.... You don’t know why A is A. It just is. You don’t know why one is one. It just is. And you are tested on it. This keeps on going; you are being prepped to go out into the world. You give up on your ideas and take on the ideas that society gives you. This is defined as responsibility.

Then, one day, an amazing thing happens. You hear: “The happiness that you want in your life is within you.” You recognize that joy is embedded within you—not in logic, but in the innocence of the heart. This need for fulfillment is a human being’s true passion. This is a passion that, against all odds, has survived all of our discoveries, turmoil, successes, failures, disasters, and catastrophes. Though languages have been forgotten, customs that survived for thousands of years have been forgotten, somehow, however fragile it may seem, the quest to be fulfilled has survived.

Today we have an opportunity to be fulfilled, to be happy. There is no rewind button. When I come home to this moment called now, I find my gratitude. Every fiber in my being comes alive and my heart dances. I have no quest for tomorrow, or even the moment yet to come. Now is a moment I could live in forever.