2 essentials

1. LOVE YOURSELF -- NO MATTER WHAT! NO-MATTER-WHAT! (Especially good when feeling scared/guilty/lonely/lost -- basically everything bad.)

 

What does this mean? It's nothing magical or mystical. Just freakin' love yourself. Close your eyes and care for you, and hold that mindset like a rock in eternity. Focus on your chest. Feel it warm your heart and arms. You'll get emotional and probably cry, like girls tend to during happy movie endings -- this will pass; I think it's emptying sadnesses and being overwhelmed with gratitude. Most importantly, ignore anything you think, just love you. Do this, and you'll have enough love to give; don't do it, and all you'll give anyone is empty actions of supposed 'caring'. To truly love, you have to fill yourself with it too. Have the courage to keep doing this and the courage to share what you really want to, who you are.

 

2 HAVE FAITH that things will end up okay.

 

Faith is a slippery sucker. Have faith in what? God? Maybe, maybe not, some will say. It might be illogical, seemingly unnecessary, weak... until the proverbial shit hits the fan, until your world breaks around you, until your alone and scared and helpless. Faith is this: trusting that things will end up okay, you are limited and there is something greater beyond you that you're part of and so cares about you. Faith is tricky because reason doesn't like it -- until it has a reason to, and even then it doubts. Just keep your thoughts locked on something bigger than you being there. It's a fact. Family, your country, the world, the stars, God -- there is stuff bigger than you and your worries. There is always hope, things will change to be okay.

 

I've needed these things, and had times without them, so I know their value. I'm sure we all do.

Dalai Lama on happiness & purpose

In an interview on:

 

http://www.lifepositive.com/Spirit/world-religions/buddhism/dalai-interview.asp

 

The Dalai Lama gives some answers:

 

What is the goal of human life? What are we born to achieve?
To be happy!

What is the purpose of existence?
Happiness.

Happiness for others or ourselves?
Take the example of a plant. What is the goal of its existence?

Service to others?
May be the plant just is! It doesn't have fixed goals. It just grows. The plant has no mind, so to speak. Animals also seem to have happiness as their aim.

Nature never remains static; growth is essential for a human being. Why do we always say 'Happy Birthday' and never 'Happy Deathday'? Because we don't want to see the end. The human mind is attracted to growth, beginning and freshness. Compassion thus is the force of growth and development while anger is destruction.

 

Writing Stories

Writing stories isn't a duty, it's a privilege to be enjoyed.

Purpose

Just being alive is fulfilling your purpose. Anything more is recreation.

The World Navel

True compassion can't distinguish between loving others and loving yourself.

What Matters

From where I'm sitting, this is what matters in life:

 

1. Compassionate love
2. Recreation

 

In that order.

my work goals

My work goals (as of 17/10/08):

 

1. Write movies.

 

2. Become a Production-Director (which I've defined as a cross between producer and director -- or an extremely hands-on producer).

 

3. Maybe write/teach some film/narrative theory on the side.

 

Just thought I'd put that down to read in the future.

Feeling Better

Make sure you love all of yourself.

Problems and their answer

When you have a problem, listen for an answer.

 

Proactive, obsessive searching often yields no true solution. Just listen and be aware, and gently follow intuitive paths, and the answer comes.

 

Amidst it all, you need faith that a bigger part of you knows.