Life wisdom

The first year in the university, when, overwhelmed by the demands and sheer volume of work and knowledge required of me, I thought I would not make it. That was when I have read in the university newsletter the following joke:

First year: They will expel me!

Second year: Why wouldn’t they expel me?!

Third year: What if they expel me?

Fourth year: Well, it’s kind of late to expel me.

Fifth year: Let them just try it.

Sixth year: He-he!

It helped me a lot. This joke told me that my feelings were not unique and advised me to just survive the first year, the next one was going to be easier.

That was exactly how it all happened.

Now, looking back, I find that this joke is quite applicable to the life as a whole. As children, we have many fears, a lot of unknown around us. Gradually, as we grow, these fears and unknowns disappear, pushed out by our increasing understanding how the world operates. Our confidence grows too and even overflows into an impudence (that occasionally provides an audacity that in turn allows us to dare and succeed in things we should not be able to).

Eventually, after achieving certain stability and position in life (using personal skills and connections), we start demanding respectful treatment (because the witnesses of our path to success either not around or keep silent expecting the reciprocity).

Finally, the golden age comes and our ambitions become of no interest to ourselves and even less to the others. We look back and are amazed how we have managed to get through despite so many challenges and poor chances, how we have avoided the multitudes of dangers by sheer luck. Well, some pieces of our skin are still sitting bleached on the barbed wire. But we have made it through alive – that’s what counts!

Now we teach the youngsters using beaten to death generalizations and platitudes, knowing deep inside that our experience is not repeatable and that all we can say looking at them climbing to their own achievements is “He-he!”

Going to church doesn’t make you a believer any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.

Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.