It comes to mind the radical decision of Cioran who, banishing his mother tongue from his hand and tongue, vowed never to earn a living except by penning, that is, never to betray his recognized vocation in order to earn more money in some other occupation. The result was an obvious and permanent lack of comfort, to say the least for a writer who isolated himself in a rented cubicle, supporting himself on handouts and eating in a popular restaurant, when his intellect would have allowed him infinitely greater possibilities. All this seems to suggest that we should always ask ourselves mentally before opening a book: how much did this gentleman give up to write?
Disappointment Is Always Proportional to Expectation
Disappointment is always proportional to expectation. To say so may be an unnecessary platitude, but the truth is that it takes an incredibly great strength to put the brakes on big, imponderable dreams at moments when they seem plausible. If one does not do it, one risks the equally incredibly great disappointments that come with them, the risk of which perhaps justifies repeating this platitude until the brain is convinced that, often, the best thing to do is not to dream.
Life Really Is an Endless Cycle of Frustration
Life really is an endless cycle of frustration when one lives wanting, and always wanting more and more, without the mind being capable of a flash of divine wisdom and putting a brake and an end to this lamentable human tendency towards greed and dissatisfaction. Few things impress as much as realizing the power of this ancient Buddhist truth, applicable to all people of all times and which seems to have been proclaimed by someone who has seen everything and understood everything.
We Must Go Back and Back to the Dhammapada
We must go back and back to the Dhammapada, to always remember that peace is the enemy of desire, and that pleasures of any kind hide a poisonous background that the wise must avoid. The world drives them, which is why it is necessary to be an enemy of the world. To give in, aware of this infallible dynamic, is to turn life into an incalculably torturous experience.