We often hear that it is a short life. At least, that’s what I heard when I was young. Better hurry up, better accomplish your goals, because it’s a short life, and it’s going to end quickly.
So you better enjoy it as much as you can. Many talks about, many promotions about, you’re going to be dead at 30, et cetera, et cetera. And when you’re 16 or 15 years old, wow, 30 is a long way away, of course.
But now, at of course 70, I can speak with some of 30 through lived experience, that it is actually a very, very, very, actually very long life. But, of course, a couple of caveats, of course. I am healthy.
I’m not sick. And I think like most individuals, I do the body to a certain extent like an old car. It has to be maintained.
And every now and then, you do have to replace a tire. You have to replace a headlight, and you have to change the oil. All of those things are very true.
You must maintain the body.
So if you enjoy cigarettes, which I did, everyone smoked virtually from the time I was 15 or 16 years old. It was very, very cool, the manly thing. To go and smoke, I smoked at least a package of cigarettes a day.
And this is a time, of course, some 50 years ago, that cigarettes were relatively inexpensive. And so you could smoke to your heart’s content. And we did.
In fact, the strangest story, we were actually allowed to smoke in high school. Can you believe this? No, I mean, I tell people this.
They think, what kind of place did you go to? What kind of school?
But what was happening at this time in British Columbia, and from the western part of Canada, of course, in British Columbia, most kids, not all kids, of course, but most, many, were quitting high school in grades 10 or 11, because you could
literally make $2,000 to $5,000 in a time equivalent to US dollars, huge money, when you were 16 years old with no skill at all, just your muscles, just your strength. So why would you stay in school? Well, you wouldn’t.
So the school system suddenly reared its head and we got all these sorts of innovative ideas, right? We got all this innovation. And one of them was to allow you to smoke in school.
So you would not run off some place and I guess lose your way. Who knew? You know, who knows now?
So we had a smoking pit very close to the exercise, the running track, if you will. It’s crazy, right? But that, of course, changed over time.
Then there was the program against smoking. And I guess the point is, if you’re going to ever maintain a healthy body, smoking is great, by the way, you gain friends, it calms you down, all those things, but it’ll kill you.
So by the time you’re 30 or so, you have to be done away with cigarettes. They have to stop, no question at all, because your lungs won’t last, right? They just won’t.
And then, of course, other abuse, be it may, alcohol, another real killer. Nice to experiment when you’re young, but at some point also has to stop. Chronic, long-term alcohol use.
Uh-uh, sorry. And then all the other substances that float around, bad relationships, another one, right? All those things have to be gone at some point in life, before you’re 30 years old, I would think.
Because I believe that life is actually in three tranches, three pieces, zero to 30, you’re getting your degrees, you’re perhaps getting married, you’re raising your children.
And then at 30 to 60, you’re actually building your career, you’re saving your money in theory, you’re watching your business blossom. And then 60 onward, you’re in theory free.
You no longer suffer with all those things that you perhaps would suffer with. So you don’t have to really be bothered by all of the things that you did when you were young in the 0 to 30, because you’ve put those aside.
And now 30 to 60, you of course can go on and become healthy and build your business, build your life. And this freedom, like I just alluded to, from 70 onward.
But how am I going to actually grasp time, if I can put it this way, to actually feel that it is a long and interesting life?
Well, one of the ways I think is, of course, I’m a big believer in the notebook. And in the notebook, I’m going to document every single day. Just very simple.
I just have to write the day and the date. Today is June the 30th, 2026. This day will never, ever, ever come again.
So it’s a special, a unique day. And what did I do today? I went to work.
I had some classes. I did some writing. It was really a wonderful day, but every day can be a wonderful day.
Now, it’s interesting. When I went to India to a yoga conference, the guru there said, Remember, you control your day. So, and I think, okay, I control my day.
Well, then some days I decide that I’m going to have a bad day. I’m not going to have every day a good day. It would be crazy, right?
Because some days I feel ill, let’s say, for instance, or frustrated or lonely or lost, or all these human emotions that float around in all of us, I’m quite sure. So in that day, I’m not going to artificially make it a good day.
But I know that I’ve been in control of the time of that day. So by reading in my notebook, I slowly but surely begin to answer the question, who’s my teacher? Well, obviously, I am, because I control my consciousness.
And if I’m not here, there is no consciousness to be perceived. Of course, there is, if you will, objective consciousness. The society will continue without me.
People will go along, they will marry, they will build businesses, and I won’t be here. So my contribution will be finished in this world.
And of course, being a believer in God and a religious man, I do believe that there’s something that extends beyond me, perhaps not my ego as I identify it, but something, right? So this consciousness is, in that sense, immortal, whatever that means.
So once again, life is very, very long.
Now, I’m deeply troubled, you know, by people that kind of frivolously talk about time, right? Oh, time is so short, etc., etc. So I think to myself, you obviously don’t really value your time, and you perhaps have done this.
You look over someone’s shoulders and you’re playing foolish video games. Now, the smart video games that we can all tolerate, can’t we? You know, they’re interesting.
A lot of them, they’re clever, you gotta play with them, but there are some games, drop the ball, catch the ball or some explosion or whatever it is. Avoid those games.
Really you do, because I really think once again, we spoke about this before, that consciousness is given to, there’s 10% of course are brilliant, or foolish rather, 5% are brilliant, the 85% are just like you and me.
We’re given this consciousness and it matures, I think at least, in around, you know, 20ish, 22, something like this. We’re adults, basically. Now we’re free, existential angst.
I’m sure you heard of that. I’m terrified, because I don’t know what to do with my life. Where do I go?
There it is, right? But at that point, then, you realize that you have this freedom.
Now, people like Michael Pollan in his book Consciousness are saying essentially, if I don’t practice consciousness, you know, to be thoughtful, obviously, whatever that means, taking in new knowledge, reading, socializing, of course, with people.
If I don’t take it in, it doesn’t grow. It’s like a muscle to that extent, right? If I don’t work on building my mind, there’s nothing there, right?
And you’ve met people, we have this idiom, lights on, nobody home, you know, which means that you’re foolish. But you’ve spent your whole life, maybe some rote job, and there’s no thoughtfulness. Remember those three questions.
Why am I here? What’s my mission? What happens when I leave here?
Where do I go? Where do I go? Right?
Wonderful question. But certainly I’m going some place that I won’t be suffering. It’s a puzzle.
Whatever conceptually you can imagine about leaving here, you will be fine. I am quite sure. I’m quite sure.
So once again, build your life, build this long life by grasping time in your own way, and the notebook, and a basic routine every day, getting up, making your bed, having a wash, shaving, etc., then writing in your notebook every morning, every day.
Every day, there’s no, well, I’m going to pause for today. Every day, slowly you will begin to see that time is assembled from pieces. Because we all have, curiously, I have no time.
I’m sure you’ve heard that statement. I have no time. Wait a moment.
Everybody gets 24 hours, everyone. Everyone gets 24 hours. So how come you have no time and the other person has too much time?
Ridiculous, right? It’s how I manage my time, which I can. Because remember, it’s a very long, long, long, wonderful life if you want it.
Choose a wonderful life. Why not? Why not?
And I know there are struggles. Yes, there are struggles. Financial struggles, emotional struggles.
Sure, with every human being, for sure. But all those things eventually can be and ultimately will be resolved. Remember the serenity point, that serenity point.
At some point in the future, all will be fine. It’s been my experience. Anyhow, and I’m not unique.
I’m just like everyone else. And you know what they say, you know what they say. Critical thinking is very important, especially when it’s a long and interesting life.
And critical thinking is great, truly great. You take care, God bless. Bye-bye.