THE ONLY THING CERTAIN IS DEATH AND TAXES

THE ONLY THING CERTAIN IS DEATH AND TAXES

Benjamin Franklin said "in life the only thing certain is death and taxes." I'm not sure that's the only thing certain.  Tell me about someone who never had aches or pain. Tell me about someone who never made a mistake. Tell me about someone who never hated, was frustrated, fell in love, was never rejected, never got pissed off or never wanted to be thinner, fatter, better looking or richer.

I'm not talking about someone with a birth defect like Down Syndrome.  I'm not talking about someone who has had a lobotomy.  I'm not talking about someone who has been locked in a basement their whole life.  I'm talking about us.

The one thing I'm sure is certain is that in life shit happens. Oh sure, death is coming our way and taxation will never end in our lifetime.  However, the goal of happiness is determined by how many of the other certain things, stated above, we can avoid happening to us or use them to our benefit.

We can choose not to hate.  We can choose to never get frustrated.  We can choose to never fall in love. We can choose to never get pissed off.  But, if we choose those things what kind of life does that leave us?  Shutting down our emotions will never make us happy.  Shutting down our emotions will result in half a life.

Wanting to be thinner, fatter, and/or richer is a good thing as long as you're not addicted to getting it. Everybody wants to look better. Everybody wouldn't mind having more money. But, trading off your happiness to get those things is self-destructive.  Only an addict would believe getting those things is more important than happiness.

We can't do much to avoid aches and pains (or worse disease). Our body is just not made to deal with the consequences of life.  However, we could choose to make something good out of something bad by accepting the body given us.

We could put ourselves in a box and avoid making mistakes.  That's also a shitty life. Mistakes are how we learn.  Making a mistake means you took a risk.  Life without risk is also half a life.

Sooo, don't assume the only thing certain in life is death and taxes.  There are many other certainties in life.  The desire to be happy is determined by:

HOW YOU EMBRACE THE OTHER CERTAINTIES AND USE THEM TO GET TO YOUR GOAL OF HAPPINESS