My grandma, laughing. Seoul, 2017.

Your Life is Worth Living!

My grandma, laughing. Seoul, 2017.
My grandma, laughing. Seoul, 2017.

Dear friend,

Sometimes to live is an act of courage– but never forget, YOUR LIFE IS PRECIOUS, AND WORTH LIVING!

1. Live your life

Cindy touching mirror Saigon hotel

My philosophy:

This life is certain. You are alive. Life after your death is uncertain.

Don’t entertain life after death. Just focus on your life (right now).

2. Life is a child playing at the beach

You are a child, at the beach, building sandcastles. No matter what you create, it will eventually flow back into the ocean.

I think that is the beauty of life– the impermanence.

Some people get discouraged. They ask themselves:

If I build these sandcastles, what is the point of building it– if it is just going to be washed away by the ocean anyways?

This is the way that nihilist losers think. Nihilism: the philosophy that ‘life is not worth living’ (‘nihil’ means nothingness).

Face mask. Hanoi, 2017
Face mask. Hanoi, 2017

Anyways, I think the reason why we should live, we should make art, is to have fun, and to make things to empower ourselves, our friends, our families, our local communities, our society, and to bring joy, happiness, and lightness of soul to all those around us.

3. The intoxicating joy of creation

I am happiest when I am in the flow of creating — when I am making pictures, writing, making music, writing poetry, having a deep conversation, or pushing my creative limits.

I also gain great joy from learning — learning philosophy, psychology, physics, or anything that augments my mind, and understanding of the world.

4. LIVE MORE!

Cindy looking up in the elevator with circles. Hanoi, 2017
Cindy looking up in the elevator with circles. Hanoi, 2017

Your life is valuable. It is precious. It is certain.

The secret to happiness and joy in life is to be more ACTIVE– to LIVE MORE, to CREATE MORE, to socialize more (with people you like), to feel greater freedom to soar, and to express yourself more creatively.

Care less what others think of you, and care more of what you think of you.

BE STRONG,
ERIC