Live Your Truth

I think perhaps a better thing to want is fulfillment. A deeper state, one that comes from within, from being your best self. From living life the way you really wish to live it. Then, happiness emanates from within as a byproduct. Naturally.

Our ability to love and create — that alone makes this entire experiment worthwhile.

If ever in pain, I think the best thing we can do is to create something. A record. Not of pain, but of what is real. Pain doesn’t last. And when it’s gone, we have something to show for it. Growth. And because it is a human experience, it is of value. Something we can share with others.

Do all artists have to suffer? Part of me resists when I ask the question. I don’t want the answer to be yes. But I let go, and the answer, instead, is of a different sort. They have to experience. To live and experience life fully because when you create art, if it’s not true and real, you know.

One thing about discovering a truth: first you live it, and after you experience the transformative results, it is real for you unlike anything else. Then you almost become obsessive about sharing it. I think that’s why people who discover God or yoga or even a new diet — a way to better themselves — proselytize. It’s a fundamental human desire to

I so often forget the lessons. So I write for him. A guide, perhaps, to the future. To the self that will one day look back and nod, knowing.

Let’s make our time count. Live our best selves. Take the risks, share our dance, belt out our songs. That what we do, even if it’s forgotten after we’re gone, matters while we’re here. That is a life well lived. A fulfilled life.

If there is one lesson I’ve learned from failure and success, it’s this. I am not the outcome. I am never the result. I am only the effort.

Knowledge is never enough. Even action, if it’s just following a prescribed way, will never fully express your potential. But to dive in, test each theory out, kick the tires, keep what works, discard the rest, add your own — that’s where magic happens.