319

To fear loss is to fear change. We can grieve, lament, and adorn respect to what has past, but we should never become attached to it.

Whether or not there is something to learn, we continue on regardless. It is not a source of grief; it is a stark reminder that nothing is truly ours in this world, and that we cannot understand the true purpose of any event until the conclusion of the matter.

318

I can now forego hatred and bitterness; why brew animosity towards the essential nature of others, or myself, when we didn’t choose who we fundamentally are? Our actions are not a mystery, a surprise, or anomalies in the course of the universe.

317

The most freeing thing I ever did in my life was realizing that there is no free will.

316

Amidst all the toil, all the strife, and all the struggle, there always remains solace in a heart of gratitude—for who you’ve become because of the suffering of the past, and for who you will be because of the suffering in the present.

315

Yes—there’s so much left to do.

But why are you daunted? Why do you despair at the thought of doing what you’re called to do?

Put your heart into your work, but do not be fooled into thinking the work must be completed merely because it is work; there are stories, there is meaning, and there is purpose behind it all, which makes any of it worthwhile in the first place. And we do not need to wait until the conclusion of the matter to embrace it.

314

If you can so easily extricate your mind from the expectations of others, why do you let your heart remain shackled?

You can be desperate, but not afraid. Grasp at the opportunity for love as if it was the last opportunity you would get in this life, but do not for a second fear what lies ahead.

313

Self-awareness is not the difference between freedom or oppression from our circumstances.

It only determines whether you enjoy the ride or dread it; it does not determine the ride itself.

312

In our quest for meaning, we almost never need to search for suffering simply because of the ways in which the world and our minds work.

But when complacency threatens—when we become inured to the status quo, coaxed by a false sense of comfort and order—let us then ask for chaos.

311

There is always something to say.

But it doesn’t mean you have to say it.

310

They say every snowflake is different—but the blizzard, it covers us all the same.

—Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous