286

From first to last

The peak is never passed

Somethin' always fires the light

That gets in your eyes

One moment's high

And glory rolls on by

Like a streak of lightning

That flashes and fades

In the summer sky

The more time you fret about time wasted in rest, the less likely you will get the rest that you need.

Perseverance matters. But you have to stay in the game. All that matters is you can impel yourself into action when it matters.

285

I need to find you.

But I don’t know how.

284

You’ve prepared and trained so diligently up to this moment. So be glad that you are now being tested.

Preparation and training never stop. But they are meaningless without performance.

283

In the moments you are least inspired to say anything, the more important it is that you find inspiration.

Stay vigilant, lest we succumb to complacency.

282

I don’t take life seriously in the sense that if my life, if all this—all this absurdity, all this beauty, all these things that I don’t understand and have yet to discover—ends tomorrow, I would still rest easy. I can detach at a moment’s notice from the chaos that pervades the world around me. But I take life seriously in the sense that I feel as though I’m called to do something—something important. I know that it is in my capacity to improve the lives of the people around me, to help them navigate this life, to help them see a certain truth.

Yes—there’s a chance that none of this may matter or make sense. There’s no guarantee that what I do in this life will make a difference. But I will absolutely fucking try.

If the choice is between the banal and the extraordinary, between delusion and truth, between misery and joy, between hatred and love, then the path is already clear.

I won’t apologize. I won’t hesitate. I won’t back down. And I will have no regrets if I fail.

281

In every moment—keep your mind open, and your heart heavy.

280

Blind hope seemed futile.

But were you not blind already?

279

Unless it helps you to become a better person tomorrow, no shame, no guilt, and no remorse.

The more time you waste dwelling on mistakes is a sign that you haven’t changed as much as you thought.

278

We don’t become attached to an outcome, lest we begin to see it unattainable, and give up. But if we become attached to a practice, whether something is attainable or unattainable is irrelevant.

We do this to be ready—to be in the best physical condition we can be in, to have honed our mind and our capacity to lucidly see the world around us, to have cultivated our heart and our ability to love all things and all people, to have fortified our soul for the harrowing troubles that await us.

Everything that we could want out of this life falls into place if we prepare ourselves for every opportunity, and every catastrophe alike.

277

What matters is not whether we are truly free or not.

What matters is merely that we feel that we are.