I might just have it all wrong. But hear me out. Life is an awe inspiring thing. As each day unfolds I feel as though I am a young child, experiencing something for the very first time. This newness is what keeps me alive. I live to see what tomorrow will bring. Riding my bicycle through the city is unpredictable. The taxi darts across in a u-turn manoeuvre; I swerve, hop up onto the sidewalk and take a different path. Great! I fear routine. I dread waking knowing that I must be here at 0900hrs, walk to here by 1000hrs, and arrive home at 1649hrs. I can’t imagine getting my coffee from the same place at the same time day in, day out. Taking the long way home gives me more pleasure than you could ever possibly imagine. I feel as though I know this city like the back of my hand, yet, there are constantly new places that I can discover and explore. Whittaker Place FTW! I live for this. By foot I am an explorer. Columbus, Cook, Shackleton. How can I not have been here before!? You see, the thing is, how can you possibly be so focussed on one thing? Spend seven days of every week chained to your magnum opus? I think the ‘great work’ is life. You don’t have to know exactly why you are here to know that this is a pretty exciting place to be. Yeah, things seem to have gone a bit sideways. I will give you that. But does that change the fact that tomorrow we don’t have a clue about what’s going to happen. We don’t even have some idea. Doesn’t that excite you? A wise person, not much older than myself once told me that there is life outside of doctoral studies. Haven’t you heard? Faith is a personal thing. Believe in what you believe in because it’s what you believe. Don’t be put off by others. They are inconceivably different to you. I’m convinced that there are very few, if any, that have it all figured out. I know what I believe and it’s not what he told me or she told me. It’s what I know inside me to be true. What’s more, I bet you one hundred that it changes tomorrow. Given all of this, perhaps it’s best we all try get along. Isn’t that the goal? Yeah, aim for the stars, and work towards that almighty aspiration of yours. Just be prepared for it all to change in a moment. Most of all, at least if it were me, that is, I would do my best to smile. How can you possibly resist a smile? I say this for all of us when I ask, what’s with all the hate? I’m just as confused as you are. I’m worried. I’m nervous. I long to see others live well. I just have a feeling deep down inside that we might all be trying a little too hard. It’s all really just a long winded way of saying, slow down, I suppose. Try wandering aimlessly for a while. When was the last time you sat and watched the clouds go by? The clouds could tell us a lot.