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As the only navigator and driver of my life, I'm not always awake at the wheel, which is probably why I hit so many trees along my youthful road of exuberance. But looking back, I wouldn't change a thing because Life is for the living if we have the guts to grab it.

And survive the ride while enjoying it through that stage of immortal and bullet-proof youth.

Nevertheless, that's where we have the most energy during life while we explore out and away from our childhood restraints and learn life's lessons first hand; and hopefully we took some good road maps with us: knowledge.

When I was eight years old reading was the rocket ship of life, taking me everywhere an imaginative kid could dream of going. And as I got older, after several years of exploratory reading searching for magnetic north, I discovered that learning was more than just what we were taught in school, it's an important key to living that shows us not only the variety of living that life has to offer, but shows us how to think about this life as well.

If we learn the art of thinking that is.

I was sixteen when I realized lying was a futile exercise in living. It would be great if I could claim I was aware of moral implications and ethical restraints at that early age, but the truth of the matter is I just became aware of the fact it's impractical. Dishonesty is an act of imagination that requires a lot of effort to keep track of and we have important things to do in life. Moreover, one of those important things is eventually learning the utter futility that deception is intrinsically composed of: a life bought with counterfeit ideas is ultimately a bogus life that really doesn't exist.

If we want to navigate through a meaningful life, we need to stay on its roads and out of its swamps.

I've always loved new experiences and my youthful love of travel on a shoe string' went well with a strong back and a ready willingness to take on any new work. If a man is willing to test himself with rough and tough jobs, no matter where you go there's work waiting for you along with new friends and experiences.

Taken all together, Life is a hard job but the more friends, fresh experiences and "true love" we have the more robust and satisfying it is and I never worried too much about that "security" business regarding tomorrow; we all have our share of luck waiting for us to fill in the gaps.

Life's full of ups and downs but if we try too hard to avoid the "downs" tomorrow might bring we'll miss the fun of learning life's lessons today.

But that's only part of the story because we have a spiritual side as well. And growing along that path is vitally important because without something larger than ourselves to look up to and forward to the World becomes a small place inside one man's life.

Life is a much bigger place than one man can see and requires a knowledge and strength beyond ourselves to navigate, survive and grow in.

Learn more about this author, S E Garrett.
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