thisisntjet

[thisisntjet]

Letter to the Future

It's Monday, 14th March 2011, 2327h. Let's begin..

This was originally a personal letter to myself, but I thought it'd be better to put it up on my blog. Who knows what will happen then? Will I be in Singapore? Married? Dead? Will I even have access to this blog? Will anything even exist? Will I be famous? So many things running through my mind about possibilities. But that's not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this as a reminder of who I am (or to the future, who I was ten years ago).

At the very least, I am happy. In the general sense, I am contented with what I have and where I am. It doesn't mean that I don't desire for a better life but I don't hate where I am right now. Maybe sometimes the yearning to move ahead tempts me to just drop everything and go, but I know the time will come. Right now I just have to wait.

I can say I'm rather confused too. I don't know what's in store for me and frankly I don't have any plans. I don't want to make plans. That's the whole point of it. I know what I want to be, but not what I want to do. My possible paths are along the lines of drumming and writing—though cinema operator and librarian seems pretty appealing too. I wonder if those jobs will still be around in ten years, or will digitalization of everything wipe off books and movies? Who knows.

Moving on, what I want to be is simple—free. Free from want, desires, sadness; I want to achieve the good life. I want to be more contented, more loving, more accepting, more humble, more motivated, happier. This is the person I want to be. Money and power do not allure me. I believe that a certain level of affluence is necessary for basic survival and happiness, to provide for what I need and nothing more. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars. Love is ineffable, Wisdom is ineffable, Happiness is ineffable—but to strive for. Actions speak louder than words; practice what I preach; be the change I want to see in the world. I want to be less hypocritical and less critical. To be more confident and outspoken but less arrogant and aggressive.

I aim to be less self-serving and more people-serving. Corporate jobs kill the soul—in fact, any form of work kills the soul. Do what you love; you can choose what you do but you can't choose what you like to do. The true artist starves for art for only the hunger for expression needs to be sated. Life is short, live the way you'd want to be remembered. Getting paid to do something is work, and it destroys creativity. God is good; God is love. God is music. Religion is blasphemy. We should be Christ-like, not Christians. Principles over rules; Christ came to break the rules. Children should be accepted and loved; understood and appreciated. They are 4-year old Buddhas. Wilfulness and frustration is born of misunderstanding and lack of empathy, therefore learn to empathize with children as well as adults.

Being open-minded is not to be naive. It is to be active-minded; to be conscious of what you take in and what you reject instead of being a jar that the world constantly fills. Be happy, be mindful, live life! There is no such thing as wasted time or lack of time. We let moments pass away without appreciating them. Every time we queue, travel, wait, or sleep; appreciate it! Be in the moment. Life is too short to float through life. Too often we complain that there are not enough hours in a day; Truth is, most of the little moments pass by us unnoticed—uncelebrated.

Prayer is powerful. Justin Bieber is talented. Do not dismiss things you do not understand. It is careless and unbecoming behavior. Look for the merits in everything—life, people, situations. All dark clouds have their silver linings. Form your own opinions, make your own decisions. Do not be shy, do not submit to general consensus or peer pressure. Your life is yours, do not surrender your autonomy. The government should be for the people, and by the people. Mubarak and Gaddafi of the Egyptian and Libyan protests show examples of poor government.

V for Vendetta is a good movie. Fight Club is a good movie. Kick-ass was pretty awesome. John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Eminem, Michael Jackson and Dave Matthews Band are at the top of my list—amongst several hundred other artists and musicians. Leonardo da Vinci was a genius. Diogenes, Socrates and Epictetus are my greatest influences. Buddha and Jesus are also my greatest influences. The Night Angel Trilogy, The Happiness Project, The Age of Absurdity are some of the good books I've read.

Facebook and Twitter are the biggest social networking sites now. The world is destroying itself. I hope 2021 is a better year for humanity.