A Partial List of Eternal Truths

By Sheldon Kopp

1. This is it!
2. There are no hidden meanings.
3. You can’t get there from here, and besides there’s no place else to go.
4. Nothing lasts!
5. There is no way of getting all you want.
6. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.
7. You only get to keep what you give away.
8. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
9. The world is not necessarily just.  Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.
10. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
11. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.
12. You don’t really control anything.
13. You can’t make anyone love you.
14. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
15. Everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable.
16. There are no great men/women.
17. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
18. All of you is worth something, if you will only own it.
19. Childhood is a nightmare.
20. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, 'take care of yourself because there is no one else to do it for you' grown-up.
21. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
22. We have only ourselves, and one another.  That may not be much, but that’s all there is.
23. How strange, that so often, it all seems worth it.
24. We are responsible for everything we do.
25. No excuses will be accepted.
26. You can run, but you can’t hide.
27. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
28. The only victory lies in surrender to oneself.
29. You are free to do whatever you like.  You need only face the consequences.
30. What do you know - for sure - anyway?
31. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again
32. And again and again.