Life 101 in a nutshell

With the current wave of high school and college graduations underway, we have millions of young people launching into adult life. Congratulations to you. Now you will have to buy your own toilet paper.
                                                                                     

No, really. We are counting on you. You will man our armed forces, raise the children of the next generation, and fill vital jobs. You will tend us when we are ill. You will build our homes. You will teach our children. You will grow our food. God bless you.

Following are a few observations which are likely not what you heard at your commencement speeches. Those well-meaning orators were inspirational but didn’t really speak quotidian truth. Let’s try to cure that.

It is good to remember that your life is an arc. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We rise from the elements of the Earth, shaped and formed by our DNA, and ascend into a strong vibrant life. A miracle. We give birth to new lives as the purpose of life on Earth demands. Then descend gradually into a comfortable dotage. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Here is the very interesting good news. While our physical well-being peaks through mid-life, our happiness is greatest at the beginning and end of our lives. If you grit your teeth and slog through the stresses and anxieties of mid-life, you are almost assured happiness in later life. According to Jonathan Rauch in The Happiness Curve, “aging changes who we are, and what we perceive, in ways that make us happier—even when our bodies betray us.” Hence the subtitle of his book: “Why life after 50 gets better.” Hang in there, baby.

A few other important guidelines.

Don’t ever wish a moment of life away. “I’m bored – I wish it was Saturday.” Wrong, wrong, so wrong! Make the most of every moment. You have only so few of them. They are guaranteed to be limited, finite. Each one is infinitely precious to you. Read. Give. Reflect. Nap. Do something. But don’t wish a moment away.

Another thought on time. Perhaps you’ve heard the aphorism about the United States Marine Corps: “No better friend, no worse enemy.” The same is true of time. Time can be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on how you utilize it.

Time is your best friend when saving for retirement. For instance, it you save $100 per week over a 40-year working career, and invest it in a market which grows, on average, 8% per year, you will retire with over a million and a half dollars. Time is your friend.

On the other hand, if you squander your cash on the latest fashions, flashy SUVs, glamorous homes, and don’t think about retirement savings until you are 60, you are SOL. (Ask an older relative what that acronym means). In this case, time is your worst enemy. (Read up on the fable of the ant and the grasshopper).

Become an informed citizen and a rational voter. We are depending on you. If you haven’t already done so, take a course in basic statistics. Many are available free online (e.g., https://www.class-central.com/subject/statistics). Learn where to get unbiased statistics. (Government and academic sources are best).

Learn relative probabilities. You are far more likely to die from a medical malpractice error or automobile wreck than from a semi-automatic rifle. You will almost certainly never win a big lottery. You must understand odds.

Understand correlations. While many are ridiculous (such that films Nicolas Cage appeared in are correlated to the number of people who drowned by falling into a pool), it is a fact that 100% of properly correlated variables are correlated. This means that you should be rightly skeptical, but always investigate correlations. There may be something there.

And many more tidbits…

Always live below your means.

Always be kind to all people and all creatures. Especially yourself.

Treasure and cultivate friendships.

Be generous in material and spiritual ways.

Follow the Ten Commandments, whether you are religious or not. They spell out a simple formula for human coexistence.

Most of all, trust yourself. Ignore naysayers. Be confident.

And thank you for picking up the traces. We are truly depending on you.