A fragment from the famous speech of Joseph Brodsky, which he made at the stadium in December 1988, before the graduates of the University of Michigan.
- Avoid attributing yourself to the status of a victim in every possible way. No matter how disgusting your situation may be, try not to blame the external forces: history, state, boss, race, parents, moon phase, childhood, untimely landing on a pot - the menu is vast and boring.
The moment you blame something, you undermine your own determination to change something and increase the vacuum of irresponsibility that demons and demagogues like to fill, for a paralyzed will is not a joy for angels.
In general, try to respect life not only for its charms, but also for its difficulties. They are part of the game, and it's good in them that they are not a hoax. Whenever you are in despair or on the verge of despair, when you are in trouble or trouble, remember: this life speaks to you in the only well-known language.
- Be able to forgive. The world we entered into does not have a good reputation. This is not a pretty place, as you will soon discover, and I doubt that it will be much more pleasant by the time you leave it.
However, this is the only world available: there is no alternative, and if it existed, there is no guarantee that it would be much better than this. Therefore, try not to pay attention to those who try to make your life unhappy. There will be many such people - both in an official position and self-appointed.
What your enemies do becomes important or important from how you react to it. Therefore, rush through or past them, as if they were yellow, not red. So you will save your brain cells from useless excitement. Switch the channel: you can not stop broadcasting this network, but in your power at least reduce its rating.
- Focus on the accuracy of your language. Try to expand your vocabulary and treat it the way you treat your bank account. Give him a lot of attention and try to increase your dividends.
The goal is to give you the opportunity to express yourself as fully and as accurately as possible. In a word, the goal is your balance. For the accumulation of the unspoken, unspoken properly can lead to a neurosis.
To avoid this, it is not necessary to turn into a bookworm. You just need to buy a dictionary and read it every day, and sometimes - and books of poetry. They are cheap enough, but even the most expensive among them cost much less than one visit to a psychiatrist.
- Try to be kind to your parents. If this sounds too much like "Honor your father and your mother", then I apologize. I just want to say: try not to rebel against them, for in all probability they will die before you, so that you can rid yourself of at least this source of guilt, if not grief.
If you need to rebel with all these "I-don't-take-u-you-no-penny", rebel against those who are not so easily wounded. Parents are too close a target (as well as brothers, sisters, wives or husbands). The distance is such that you can not miss.
- Try not to rely too much on politicians. Not so much because they are stupid or dishonest, as is often the case, but because of the scale of their work, which is too large even for the best among them. They can somewhat reduce social evil, but not eradicate it. No matter how significant the improvement, from the ethical point of view it will always be negligible, because there will always be those, at least one person, who will not benefit from this improvement.
The world is imperfect. The Golden Age has never been and never will be. In light of this - or rather, in the darkness - you must rely on your own home cooking, that is, manage the world yourself. But even within your own pie, you must prepare for what you, in all likelihood, will have to taste in equal measure both gratitude and disappointment.
- Try to be modest. Already and now we are too many - and very soon there will be many more. This climbing into place under the sun is necessarily at the expense of others. The fact that you have to step on someone's feet does not mean that you should stand on their shoulders. So, if you want to become rich, or famous, or both, - in a good time, but do not give it in full.
Always remember that there is always someone near you - a neighbor. No one asks you to love him, but try not to disturb him too much and not hurt him. At the worst, try to remember from what far away - from the stars, from the depths of the universe, perhaps from its opposite end - a request has come not to do this, just like the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself.
