The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
I guess I never really thought of being surprised by humanity before. Humans are… well, human. Obviously. But to be quite honest, I see myself in the above. I sit for too many hours behind a computer, and oftentimes miss out on things I want to do because I think I don’t have time, or I’m simply too burnt out at the end of the day to do them. I vow to do better. Tomorrow. It’s always tomorrow. Which then reminds me of a poem that my favorite brother on the planet often quotes:
Tomorrow
He would be all
That a mortal could be…
Tomorrow
No one would be kinder
Or fairer than she…
Tomorrow
Each day he would stack up
The letters he would write…
Tomorrow
She would think of the customers
She would fill with delight…
Tomorrow
But the fact is they died
And faded from view
And all that was left
When living was through
Was the mountain of things
They intended to do…
Tomorrow
–Anonymous
Adapted by Scott McKain
