Words to Live by

Breathe.
Seems the most obvious but you'd be amazed at how often this goes ignored. One can be so focused (or distracted), one forgets how to perform the most rudimentary tasks- breathing. This would probably explain why people tell pregnant women to breathe. I wonder if this only infuriates them.

Take a sweater.
"Or a coat.
Something to shield you
from the cold."
How metaphorical. How applicable to all sorts of things. Unfortunately, you'd probably be told this far-reaching advice for the most mundane things: keeping warm from a slight breeze. It would probably sound weird hearing something unintentionally metaphorical every morning, or every time one went out the door. Then again, "have a good one" and "be careful" are fairly metaphorical. Not enough to be vague and cosmically profound but they'll soon be there. Or maybe they're in their right place already. Not necessarily mundane but not reaching the ocean floor in terms of depth.

Look both ways before crossing.
Seems fairly straightforward. Can also be metaphorical- referring to decisions.

Hey, man, slow down. Slow down.
Radiohead songs are often full of wisdom. Music is full of wisdom. More often than not, it'll be hidden within catchy music and lyrics. So dig deep to be deep. If that makes any sense, I thank you for being able to walk the erratic line I draw.

Wisdom and words to live by are extremely common. They're not that hard to find.

For a while, I spoke to a homeless man on a frequent basis. I didn't care if people stopped to stare at a scrawny kid actually having a conversation with a homeless man. I haven't seen him in months but I haven't forgotten what he said. Everything he told me always sounded genuine and wise. Yet, these were the same things I've been told my entire life. What he told me can be summed up as: work hard and never give up. Objectively speaking, him saying these things didn't make them more poignant or profound than when my teachers said it. So, what makes such advice special? Not the source. what makes them special is that they've been so ingrained into our collective minds that they do ring loud and true when the clouds part. The advice that is so common comes off something else because we've heard it so often that it has taken on different meanings and always offers something new. Strange but true.

They've been repeated to the point that they shed their mundane shells and evolve into something greater.

Would this prove that something can come from nothing?

Would this support an ex nihilo universe?

Or is it all interpretation and perspective?

Are the words we live by simply dust in the wind?

Do we construct illusions so convincing that we place them on pedestals we'll never reach?

Have we forgotten what everything means?

Did we ever know?

Did we ever know what to do, what things meant, who we are?

Is anybody out there?

What can anybody do?

Ever onward.