Sometimes I am utterly overwhelmed by the transitory nature of all human achievements. Some much tragedy has happened in recent years, that many fear today or tomorrow, a hazard or passing will come to someone we love, and nothing will be left, but stench and worms. Hopefully my affairs will never be forgotten, may the live on for hundreds of years. The fate of man sometimes reminds me of the traveler in the Eastern tale who, pursued by an enraged beast, seeks refuge in a dry well. At the bottom of the well he sees a dragon that has opened its jaws to swallow him. To escape the enraged beast above and the dragon below, he looks around he notices that two eagles are gnawing at the stem of the twig. He realizes very soon that the twig will snap and he will fall to his doom, but at the same time he sees some drops of honey on the leaves of the branch and reaches out with his tongue to lick them. So I too clung to the twig of life, knowing that the dragon of death was inevitably awaiting me, ready to tear me to pieces….I tried to lick the honey which formerly consoled me, but the honey no longer gave me pleasure…I only saw the unescapable dragon and the eagles, and I could not tear my gaze from them. And this is not a fable, but the real unanswerable truth. #RyanPhillippe 1 of 5

These considerations inevitably lead to the conclusion that life is unpredictable, and no reasonable meaning can be given to a single action or to a whole life. What ways out are available to a human being who finds himself in this terrible position? The first way out is ignorance. People who adopt this solution (chiefly very dull people) have simply not or not yet faced the questions that were tormenting him. Once a person has fully realized what being mortal means, this solution is not available to him. Another way is the of Epicureanism, which consists in admitting the hopelessness of life, but seizing as many of life’s pleasures as possible while they are within reach. It consists in disregarding the dragon and the eagles and licking the honey in the best way, especially if much of it is around. This solution is adopted by the majority of the people belonging to my circle, by which means the well-to-do ad intellectuals. Nonetheless, the vast majority of human beings are not well-to-do hence have little or no honey at their disposal and also because of it is a matter of accident whether one is among those who have honey or those who have not. #RyanPhillippe 2 of 5

Moreover, it requires a special moral dullness, which I myself lack, to enjoy the honey while knowing the truth about being mortal and the deprivations of the great majority of other mortals. Another solution is to remove oneself from the World, but that is not the way of the strong nor those who are full of energy. The ability to live is chosen by people who are exceptionally strong and consistent people. After they realize that is it better to be alive than not to exists, and they find that life has meaning. The means for living a great life are readily at the hands of everybody, but one cannot be too cowardly nor too irrational to avail themselves of them. Finally, there is the way of honor. This consists in seeing the truth ad clinging to life nevertheless, People of this kind have the strength to act rationally. When people say life is short, they are actually intelligent and realistic in their summary and surely have conceded that there is much truth in the pessimists’ claim. Stated differently, what they are saying is that few people achieve real and lasting happiness, that the joys of life (where there are any) pass away much too soon, that totally unpredictable events frequently upset the best intention and wreck the nobles plans—this and much more along the same line is surely undeniable. #RyanPhillippe 3 of 5

Although one should not dogmatize that there will be no significant improvements in the future, the fate of past revelations, undertaken to rid man of some of his apparently avoidable suffering, does not inspire great hope. The thought of being mortal, too, even in those who are not so overwhelmed by it can be quite unendurable. Moreover, to many who have reflected on the implications of physical theory it seems plain that because of the constant increase of entropy in the Universe al life anywhere will eventually cease to exist. Forebodings of this this kind actually move people to be good people and achieve the most they can in life and do it in an honest fashion. All the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and the whole temple of man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a Universe in ruins.   In the longest run the sum of all human endeavor has no recognizable significance. So make the best of your situation no matter how great or bleak it seems to you. #RyanPhillippe 4 of 5

Do not waste your life being mean and bitter because death is something terrible as it terminates the possibility of any of the experience we value, and thinking about being mortal is what scares so many people. And if something, y, is bad because it is the termination of something, x, this can be so only if x is good or have positive value. If x were not good, the termination of x would not be bad. One cannot consistently say they hate life, and it is worthless, and fear death. That is a contradiction. If life did have positive value prior to one’s realization of death but that once a person has become aware of the inevitability of his destruction life becomes unbearable and that this is the real issue. Why he that cuts off twenty years of life cuts off so many years of fearing being a mortal. Grant that, and then is death a benefit: so are we some have abridged their time of fearing death. Stated differently, when people know they did not make the best of their lives and did not enjoy it to the best of their ability, then in their old age they condemn life, but secretly they wish that they were still young and could go on living longer. Life is not easy, but most people enjoy being here. The ability to love and be loved makes it all worth it. #RyanPhillippe 5 of 5