“My friend’s mom has eaten healthy all her life. Never ever consumed alcohol or any “bad” food, exercised every day, was very limber, and very active, took all supplements suggested by her doctor, and never went in the sun without sunscreen, and when she did it was for as short a period as possible – so pretty much she protected her health with the utmost that anyone could.
She is now 76 and has skin cancer, bone marrow cancer, and extreme osteoporosis. My friend’s father eats bacon on top of bacon, butter on top of butter, fat on top of fat, never and I mean never exercised, was out in the sun burnt to a crisp every summer, he took the approach to live life to his fullest and not as others suggest. He is 81 and the doctors say his health is that of a young person.”
“People you cannot hide from your poison. It’s out there and it will find you so in the words of my friend’s still-living mother:
“If I would have known my life would end this way I would have lived it more to the fullest enjoying everything I was told not to!”
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like a hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.”
This experience echoes the words of the Dalai Lama, who has often encouraged us that happiness is the meaning of our life:
“The very purpose of our life is happiness, which is sustained by hope. We have no guarantee about the future, but we exist in the hope of something better. Hope means keeping going, thinking, ‘I can do this.’ It brings inner strength, self-confidence, the ability to do what you do honestly, truthfully, and transparently.” ~ Dalai Lama
But the selfish pursuit of happiness can have the opposite effect as the 8th-century Tibetan monk and scholar Shantideva reminds us that altruism is the key to lasting happiness:
“All the suffering there is in this world arises from wishing ourselves to be happy. All the happiness there is in this world arises from wishing others to be happy.” ~ Śāntideva
