Creating Our Own Happiness.

I knew Wayne Coyne must be a great guy from the first time I listened to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Heed his words. He speaks the truth.

Live for the challenge.

This is a simple one. There is no point to a life devoid of challenge no matter what anyone says. I pity the fool who thinks the ideal situation is a constant state of carefree enjoyment and pleasure. That is why Shaw and other great thinkers have always painted Hell as a place of eternal indulgence:

A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell.
-George Bernard Shaw

The best way to truly live is to constantly challenge and outgrow yourself. Expect frustration, failure, discomfort, unhappiness, doubt and pain. True men are made of blood, sweat and tears. However, know that nothing can replace the fulfillment of reaping the rewards of your own hard work. Live for that fulfillment and don't look for easy fixes. Live for the challenge. Why go for the fool's gold when the real gold is in your grasp?

Saint John.

If there's anything holy in this world, it's John Coltrane.

"I would like to bring to people something like happiness. I would like to discover a method so that if I want it to rain, it will start right away to rain. If one of my friends is ill, I'd like to play a certain song and he will be cured; when he'd be broke, I'd bring out a different song and immediately he'd receive all the money he needed."

So it goes.

"I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did'."

- Kurt Vonnegut

Brigitte Bardot.

"Ο κινηματογράφος δεν κάνει πια τους ανθρώπους να ονειρεύονται. Αλλά ούτε και οι ηθοποιoί το κάνουν. Σήμερα απλώς καταγράφουν πρόχειρα την καθημερινότητα με ηθοποιούς που δεν έχουν καθόλου προσωπικότητα. Είναι εντελώς συνηθισμένοι, αδιάφοροι. Πού έχει πάει το όνειρο?"

Dare to dream.

Can a cynic be a dreamer? I believe it is possible. Cynicism should not be confused with pessimism or negativity. Cynicism is the power of accurate observation dressed in wit and delivered with humor, while pessimism is a mental filter according to which everything is interpreted negatively (and thus innacurately) dressed in self-righteousness and delivered with irritation. There is a fine line between the two, but it is a crucial one, one that many people fail to recognize.

The dreamers have always been the ones who shaped the world's destiny. The dreamer will encounter different opinions when he sets out to fulfill his vision:

The pessimist will say: "Forget about it. Impossible. Ludicrous. Too good to happen."

The optimist will say: "Yes! Magnificent idea! You will succeed, I'm sure of it!"

But the cynic will say: "Well... This sure sounds crazy and I'm not certain it's even possible. But if you're going to try, know that the road won't be an easy one. In fact, it will probably be the biggest challenge you'll face in your life, and you might fail. But don't let yourself get discouraged by that fact. As George Bernard Shaw said, "all progress depends on the unreasonable man" -the dreamer. Your vision will keep you going where others would fail if you believe in it with all your heart, and it will be worth every sweat and every sacrifice if you succeed. So assume the burden and prepare to join the ranks of those who have shaped destiny, or stay "reasonable", settle for a life of commodity and fade away into oblivion. The choice is yours, and it will be yours for as long as you are alive. Remember that dreamers are always ahead of their time, their minds are attuned to their utopia, so naturally, "reasonable" people will label them as lunatics. That is to be expected. 150 years ago ideas like the abolishment of slavery or equal rights for all humans would be laughed at and ridiculed by the "reasonable", the "rational" of the time. Yet today these are almost universally accepted ideals, thanks to the efforts of a handful of men who oiled the engines of progress and set fourth the chain of events that raised our consciousness and reshaped our society. So don't be afraid to be called irrational. Take solace in the fact that dreamers have succeeded, and dreamers will continue to succeed for they are the means by which Life eternally renews and sustains itself."

Both the optimist and the pessimist are blind to the truth. The cynic faces it head on with a balanced view, not too optimistic and risk getting disappointed quickly, not too pessimistic and risk betraying his soul. For their souls is what optimists and pessimists will continue to ignore so long as they refuse to remove the blindfolds from their eyes and demand that Life present them with everything it's got.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. All progress, therefore, depends upon the unreasonable man.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

[..]I dream things as they never were and ask, "Why not?

-George Bernard Shaw