What are the important things in life?  This is a question I occaissionally give some thought to.  The fact is, the answer is different for everyone.  I believe that there are some things which are more or less universal.

Hope is esssential, for without it, there can be only despair.  Hope fuels dreams and builds the future.  It makes hardship bearable and gives strength to the oppressed.

Belief is required, for hope is it’s hostage.  Hope is meaningless if you don’t believe it.   Belief is the engine fueled by hope.  A dream cannot become the future if the dreamer doesn’t  believe it.  You cannot make any change if you don’t  believe you can.  No good thing could ever have happened if it was not believed in.

Trust is the seed from which grows friendship and love.  Without trust, one is forever alone.  No matter how many people surround you, if there is no trust, there can be no companionship.  To be trusted is to recieve the greatest of compliments.  To give trust is to trust yourself.  Trusting yourself is the key to acheiving your dreams.  It doesn’t guarantee success, but not trusting yourself guarantees failure.

Love is both the source and the outcome of all these.  Without love, there can be no fulfillment  Every good thing comes from love of others.  Love is the very essence of hope, belief and trust.  It is the best of everything we are.

For me, there is one more essential.  Humour.  Whenever I have lost hope and and believed I could not trust to love, I have always gotten through with humour.  Some of it may be dark or in poor taste, but it is a way for me to cope when I have no other.    They say that feeling pain lets you know you’re alive.  Being able to laugh even when you’re in pain lets you know why you’re aliive.  Humour is a way of looking at things we cannot face.  Laughter is a medecine for the soul.

This list is far from complete.  These are my essentials, and invite everyone to share theirs.

Cheers, Winston