I’m 47 and optimistically, I’d like to consider this roughly half my life. I’ve been reflecting a good deal of late on what I have learned thus far, which has not always come close to easy. But the learning process itself, I think, is what makes our lives so amazing.

Life is difficult.

It’s difficult for everybody, not just you.

You don’t have the right to take your difficulties out on others nor will they make yours any better.

Collecting debt is no way to live life. Financial debts. Debts of the heart. Debts of not telling people how you feel. Life is too short for all of them.

Everything passes — pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness. Every single thing has an endpoint.

The impermanence of life is its greatest blessing — it allows you to live when you see it as it is— but it is also its hardest lesson, especially when you lose someone.

Read — exercise — socialize — be outdoors — share your emotions with others.

Don’t worry about pleasing others. Just sweep your own front porch every day.

The deeper your foundations the higher you will grow. So don’t ever hinge on others, build and hinge on yourself.