Sometimes I find that we keep encountering certain situations or individuals in our lives because we are supposed to learn from them. When we continue to make the same mistakes, we continue to be confronted with the same scenarios over and over again. Its seems that the only way to break free of this vicious cycle is by acknowledging the lesson that's meant to be learned and learning it. The hard part is not so much recognizing the problem as actually doing the work to fix it.

One word comes to mind when I think about this dilemma: self-control. It is that most elusive and challenging of human qualities that we desperately need to succeed in this life. Self-control means power over one's own life and admitting that the responsibility for living well ultimately lies with the self. The heroes of the past were not those who caved into primitive emotions like lust, desire, greed, or jealousy, but those who controlled themselves and took the higher ground. Their ability to transcend these very basic human emotions made them the individuals we honor today. As the followers of the Jewish faith have professed, humans are but a blend of dust and divinity. Humanity's final record will depend on the side which we ultimately choose to identify ourselves with.

Man is half beast half angel...or so the story goes. How do we reconcile these polar opposites? Furthermore, what is our ultimate purpose here on earth? Are we expected to mindlessly procreate from one generation to the next like some Darwinian re-enactment or are we supposed to be something more? I personally hope that its the latter. The saying that "only a life lived for others is worth living," resonates deeply with me. Our memory lives on through the lives of others; specifically in the ways that we've touched or influenced them. If we've a life disconnected from others and focused only on ourselves, our memory will be erased just like footsteps in the ocean sand. I believe that disconnecting from others breaks the chain of collective humanity and is the cause behind much pain and suffering.

Here are a few quotes that I've come across which I think say a lot about our existence. Please let me know what you think:

The great and glorious masterpiece of humanity is to know how to live with purpose--Montagne

Our fears are more numerous than our dangers, and we suffer more in our imagination that in reality--Seneca

All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, and art would be ineffectual---Honore de Balzac

There are only two ways to live your life: one as if nothing is a miracles; the other as if everything is a miracle--Albert Einstein

My religion is kindness--Dalai Lama....(this perspective would solve a lot of global conflict it it was adopted by others; its kind of hard to wage religious warfare on someone for being too kind)