May 10, 2013
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The Meaning of Life
You will probably never accomplish your goals in life.
At one point or another, you will realize that most of your dreams will not come true.Even if your dreams come true, you will find out that they do not match what you thought they would be when you got there.Most of the friends you made during your life will not be there for you during your darkest hour. When you die, very few people will be standing around you if any.You will spend most of your life either working or sleeping.One day you will get cancer or have a heart attack. If you are lucky, you will die instantly. But most of you will not be lucky. You will die slowly.All marriages end in divorce or death. So even if you marry your “soulmate,” he/she will potentially divorce you down the line. If you stay married, one day you will wake up to a dead body laying next to you. He or she will have left you alone.If you are a mother and you are raising your children, they will leave you. They will have a family of their own.You are unlikely to become rich. But if you happen to become rich, you are still going to end up in a nursing home with someone else having to wipe your butt for you. There will become a point when you can barely walk and you will not be able to avoid wearing an adult diaper.In the nursing home, your kids will probably visit you once or twice a week. So a complete stranger will be the person spending time with you.
Comments (73)
You really do need some of my poison. Holy downer.
Hey as long as I am free to fart, it is all good.
“If you are a mother and you are raising your children, they will leave you. They will have a family of their own.”
Tell that to my mother before she’s tempted to kill me off.
Somebody needs a hug.
Holy shit Dan, this was heavy. You’re just lucky that I share this level of pessimism about my future life.
there’s a question missing from this.
42
My goals are not mine; I gave those up along time ago. I only want to serve Him faithfully.
I don’t have dreams; I have a vision that will come true in spite of any of my own failures.
Since this vision is not mine but His, I have little idea what it will look like and even if I did I wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.
I’ve already lost most of my older friends, and He has provided many, many more. I will always have my Order but, more importantly, I will always have Him. Even should I die alone, a martyr in the wilderness, I am not alone.
I have turned away from work and instead labor alongside Him; what sleep I receive is a gift from Him.
Regardless of the death I am given at life’s end it is His gift and will that sustains me, likewise the same that “bids me come unto” Him, as I pray in my favorite prayer (the “Anima Christi”).
I likely will not marry; the One to whom I’ve given my life cannot die and will never leave me alone.
I will one day have more children than I can count…thousands will call me “Father” one day.
I care not for riches; I have taken a vow of poverty. I WANT to die poor! Perhaps I will age and be helpless; praise God that I will die humble and not proud, that I might be received by Him in Heaven all the more quickly!
I will likely be in a nursing home with the same men I served God with all my life; I will be among friends and not strangers.
Well, Dan, you tried to get me down, but I guess your Doomsday Prophecy doesn’t apply to me.
For the rest of you, do not despair: yes, the future holds within it great trial and sadness but great joy and beauty also and, more importantly at life’s fullest end, if we have been faithful, joy and beauty the likes of which can only be spoken of in ancient verses and song! Do not be afraid!
This is so depressing. I’m going to take such good care of myself that my future kids won’t even consider putting me into a nursing home. As for death…well, that’s inevitable. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough for it to happen in a hospital bed, so I don’t have to wake up to grief and anxiety.
haha… I did accomplish my dreams… to be a SAHM to a couple of kids. I did that… now onto making some other dreams (cause some other one I’ve fulfilled).
If I looked like a pink fish with a yellow fin, I’d be confused about the point of bowling, too.
@Ancient_Scribe - God is the lie we tell ourselves to sleep better at night.
Well that’s a pep talk for an NCAA final four locker room if I ever read one. I would finish with, “There’s a gun with one bullet in each of your lockers.”
Ever walk toward the horizon? We walk and walk and damn, the horizon is no closer. That’s the beauty of life. We set our eyes on a horizon, then another, then another. Horizons are good but it’s the journeys we have the option to enjoy and learn from that make life worth living and we sometimes turn corners we never saw coming.
Don’t forget to wear sunscreen. Trust me.
What in the world happened to you today?
This is exactly whatI needed to hear tonight. God bless you.
That is why I am happy to be an underachiever.
This could be a wake up call to the right person. You know, make the most of it while you’re here. Enjoy your youth because some day you’ll be that old guy walking through the mall so slowly that others (mainly those in a rush) are tempted to kick over your walker.
Growing older is inevitable, as are all the rotten things like adult diapers and being lonely. I suppose it’s just something we have to accept, not something to think about until it’s actually happening to you.
The meaning of life is to find meaning in your own life, live it in a way that when you do wind up in the old age home… you have some cool stories to look back on. Just like we find comfort and company in the characters in books, maybe our memories will serve us the same way someday.
@specialxplaces -
“The meaning of life is to find meaning in your own life, live it in a way that when you do wind up in the old age home… you have some cool stories to look back on.”
They won’t be fond memories, they’d be cruel echoes of what was lost and what will never again be.
Assuming, of course, that we escape dementia. Old age has a tendency to fuck up the brain.
Hopefully, on my death bed, I would have looked back as having done good deeds that would make my passing just a little easier and the horror of what I see before me..a little less.
> Read first line of the post.
> Scrolled down to the comments.
> Commented what I did.
> ???
> Profit.
i was hoping it would be about lion king
That was promising. Sorry you’ve had such a hard life Dan that you would even think like this. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
As the banner reads on my site:
“Live Everyday Like Your First – Sleep all day, crap your pants and stay up all night crying.
Some people say, ‘live every day like your last.’ I’m a little more optimistic.”
I like the image in this post by the way.
Wow, talk about negative. I believe in the joy of a journey and not the destination. As for kids leaving and having their own families, all parents want this. We certainly wouldn’t want our children to be dependent on us forever. If hubby dies sleeping next to me, I’d say it’s the best way possible instead of say, dying in a horrific car accident.
How depressing. No matter what, life is what you make it. I’m grateful for my family and friends. Some people don’t even have that.
Well, whatcha’ gonna do? That’s life, and all you can do is see all of the positives that come from it. Life is not completely miserable even though we may wonder if anything matters. In reality, of course nothing matters, and all of what you’re saying is true. There’s just no way around it and you have to find ways to see the happy, beautiful things about life (because they do exist), if you’re going to survive (figuratively, as no one will really survive).
So you’re saying I’ll become an SEO programmer?
Death exists because you accept it as an innevitability. Live your life as a spectator says the Bhagavad Gita. Life is only a temporary experience but live for the moment. Your past is always going to haunt you only if you havent accepted the outcome of your previous actions & decisions. We are the architects of our own destiny. You fail at accomplishing your dreams because you allow yourself failure. “Do or Do Not, there is no Try” – Yoda
are you alright?
I am 79. The meaning of life is leaving behind lovely great grandchildren which is what God wanted in the first place.
Your only goal on this Earth is to procreate. As long as you do that, you are a biological success. Everything else is a delusion we create to give us a semblance of meaning so as to make our lives seem fulfilling and worthwhile.
Why so depressed, Dan?
The meaning of life is the question itself!
Here is an interesting John Lennon quote:
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
You see – being rich depends on the things YOU value – not what somebody else values. If you always have your scale or measuring stick out comparing what you have to what someone else has – you will always see a bigger pile of stuff someplace else -and you will feel poor!
But of course George Harrison was right when he wrote “All Things Must Pass”.
And of course Forrest Gump was inspired when he said “Shit happens!”
But in the end, the meaning of life is the question itself! And perhaps, the meaning of life depends on what you put into it? Embrace the questions – and be happy you can ask them!
‘In this world you will have tribulations. Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.’ – Jesus Christ nailed it with this statement.
Ecclesiastes 1: 2 A shadow’s shadow, he tells us, a shadow’s shadow; a world of shadows!3 How is man the better for all this toiling of his, here under the sun? 4 Age succeeds age, and the world goes on unaltered.5 Sun may rise and sun may set, but ever it goes back and is reborn. 6 Round to the south it moves, round to the north it turns; the wind, too, though it makes the round of the world, goes back to the beginning of its round at last. 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet never the sea grows full; back to their springs they find their way, and must be flowing still.8 Weariness, all weariness; who shall tell the tale? Eye looks on unsatisfied; ear listens, ill content. 9 Ever that shall be that ever has been, that which has happened once shall happen again; 10 there can be nothing new, here under the sun. Never man calls a thing new, but it is something already known to the ages that went before us; 11 only we have no record of older days. So, believe me, the fame of to-morrow’s doings will be forgotten by the men of a later time. – Knox Bible
9 All this, too, I pondered in my heart, and would spare no pains to find out the meaning of it. Here are upright men and wise; and every task of theirs is in God’s keeping, nor can any tell whether they have earned his love, or his displeasure!2 This remains as yet uncertain, and meanwhile all have the same lot, upright and godless, good and wicked, clean and unclean alike. Brought they offerings or brought they none, well did they or ill, true swore they or false, it is all one. 3 Of all that goes amiss, here under the sun, nothing does more hurt than this equality of fortunes; what wonder if men’s hearts, while yet they live, are full of malice and defiance? And so they journey on to the grave. 4 Were but immortality the prize! But no, hope of that is none; living dog is better off than dead lion. 5 They live under sentence of death; and when death comes, of nothing will they be aware any longer; no reward can they receive, now that every trace of them has vanished away; 6 no love, no hatred, no envy can they feel; they have said good-bye to this world, and to all its busy doings, here under the sun.
7 Go thy ways, then, eat thy bread with a stout heart, and drink wine to thy contenting; that done, God asks no more of thee. 8 Ever be thy garments of white, ever let thy brow glisten with oil; 9 live at ease with the wife that is thy heart’s love, long as this uncertain life is granted thee; fugitive days, here beneath the sun. Live thou and labour thou under the sun as thou wilt, this thy portion shall be, and nothing more. 10 Whatever lies in thy power, do while do it thou canst; there will be no doing, no scheming, no wisdom or skill left to thee in the grave, that soon shall be thy home.
11 Then my thought took a fresh turn; man’s art does not avail, here beneath the sun, to win the race for the swift, or the battle for the strong, a livelihood for wisdom, riches for great learning, or for the craftsman thanks; chance and the moment rule all. 12 Nor does man see his end coming; hooked fish or snared bird is not overtaken so suddenly as man is, when the day of doom falls on him unawares. (Knox Bible)
12 Do not forget thy Maker, now, while youth lasts; now, while the evil days are still far off, the years that pass unwelcomed. 2 Not yet the obscuration of sun and moon and starlight; and the clouds that still gather when the rainy season is done. 3 One day, palsy will shake those door-keepers, those stalwart guards will be bowed with age; rarer, now, the busy maidens at the mill, dimmer, now, those bright glances from the windows. 4 The street-doors shut, muffled the hum of the mill, bird-song for waking-time, and all the echoes]”=”">[a] of music faint!5 Fear upon every height, terrors on the road; almond-blossom matched for whiteness; the grasshopper’s weight a burden now; the spiced food untasted!]”=”">[b]Man is for his everlasting home, and already the mourners are astir in the streets. 6 That, or else yonder cord of silver will be loosed, yonder golden skein unravelled; pitcher broken beside the fountain, wheel lost in the well;]”=”">[c] 7 with that, back goes dust to its parent earth, and the spirit]”=”">[d] returns to God who gave it.
8 A shadow’s shadow, he, the Spokesman, tells us, a world of shadows!
9 Abundant wisdom the Spokesman had, to be the oracle of his people; the story of his life he made known to them, laid secrets bare, and proverbs framed a many. 10 Sayings of much import he devised, and nothing his pen set down but was truth unalloyed. 11 Sharp goads they are to sting us, sharp nails driven deep home, these wise words left to us by many masters, but all echoing one shepherd’s voice. 12 Let these, my son, be all the wisdom thou cravest; this writing of books is an endless matter, and from overmuch study nature rebels.
13 Conclude we then thus in general; Fear God, and keep his commandments; this is the whole meaning of man. 14 No act of thine but God will bring it under his scrutiny, deep beyond all thy knowing, and pronounce it good or evil. (Knox Bible)
happy happy joy joy
Aren’t you all rainbows and sunshine today?
I love that cartoon.
@Celestial_Teapot - That’s poetic, although it all depends on your perspective; you have the choice to look upon the life you lived either way. But dementia is another story… something I’m deeply afraid of actually. Makes me want to die young.
Well, this is some morbid shit…
And a happy Friday to you, too!!
This is America? No wonder you have taken to shooting each other!
In Australia there are sure-as-shit bad times, but they are (or should be) counterbalanced by ‘you-fucking-BEAUTY‘ times. If you were chemicalled in the middle east, starved in Somalia or carpet bombed in Cambodia you got something to actually whine about.
I’m a 57 YO Australian. I am retired. I play golf. I drink wine. Rather a lot of wine. We have universal healthcare; tough as can be gun laws. If I die tomorrow I’ll have had a good time.
I’ve been to America. Loved it, and the folk. You need to get a life, I think
As much as I can relate some of time to what you are saying, I do know that I am enjoying myself now and that counts and what I do with my time can and will have an effect on others. My hope is that ultimately, as a result of what I have done will go forward down the line and effect numerous others in some sort of indirect way in a positive manner so that they too can have a moment of peace, if only a moment.
With that being said, the old adage comes into mind, its not the destination that counts but the journey….or if you prefer Miley’s big hit, its the climb.
I am not worried about all that, for life is full of yummy goodness, you fall and hurt some of the time but can recover from it all.
If you are a religious fella, you can look forward to something after, if not, why despair what you cannot control and make the journey any worst…for inevitably this does happen, as you say.
So it is not for me so much to consider death so deeply any longer for it is life’s biggest mystery and it happens to us all undoubtedly!
~~Monkey~~
If you look to others to give your life meaning, then your life is meaningless already.
If you look to your spouse to give your life meaning, then it’s only a matter of time before she leaves you.
If you make an appeal to the vapid desires of the masses, then the masses will eventually abandon you.
If you don’t spend time with your children to teach them how to survive in both the world as it is, and the world as it may become, and do not love them and enlighten them, then when you are old, they will discard you.
If you buy into the system that poisons you air, water, and food, and allow them to capture you within their government controlled systems, such as Obama Care, and the various social programs, then you will be a slave, and you will die a slow painful death.
You have posted the above, because you have allowed your humanity to become compromised. You must rediscover the hero inside yourself, or all of what you just described will certainly be your fate.
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You made me think of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xActyF0mwvI
Also, an old joke, circa 2002:
How many emo kids does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None, they all just want to sit in the dark and cry.
the kids will probably visit once or twice a week…that is a lot of visits by the way….from what iv’e seen… the kids are likely to visit their parents only when they have money for them when they die…lol…
Allie Brosh needs to know how awesome she is. You, a xanga god, used one of her sketches after returning to the internet just a day ago.
@Ancient_Scribe - I’m glad this post exists, just because your response is a result of it. Well said.
But whatever I get in this life is better that I deserve because what I deserve is hell. Therefore, I will live giving thanks for the blessings of sun and moon, rain and shine, wind and calm.
I’ve already accomplished many of my dreams, and you’re right that they weren’t what I expected, they were better!
In Acts 20:24, Paul said of his many horrible experiences, “But none of these things move me.”
That’s exactly how I feel. Sure, I get hurt, and things move me in the moment (a lot). But ultimately? My life is an incredible adventure of getting to know God better and being more and more overtaken by His incredible love. I’m addicted.
I say this as someone who has been through horrible bullying and lives with a chronic illness that causes me daily pain.
But none of these things move me
, because I have the one thing that is worth selling everything else to buy. I live for the one thing that is truly worth dying for. If that death comes sooner, or if it comes later, I know where I’m going. More importantly, I know Who I’m going to be with. That’s why I’m happy and why I have a peace that goes beyond any circumstance.
When it comes down to it, it’s about Him, not me. That’s what makes my life not just great, but amazing!
Jeez Dan are you off your meds today or what
When you put it that way it’s kind of depressing.
I try to make a gratitude list of everything that makes me happy everyday or else my mind goes to the negative.
Dude its not so bad my grampa died happy in his sleep at 99 years old having been healthy up to that day. He was laying next to his wife, first love. She dealt with it well and was happy still, she had her children and grand children and great grand children. She died at 99 years old in the house of her oldest daughter. They had a great life it was a j0oy to hear them talk about it. They were like a living history book that loves you
We are owed no meaning in life. It’s whatever you make it.
If you look to others to give your life meaning, then your life is meaningless already.
“If you look to your spouse to give your life meaning, then it’s only a matter of time before she leaves you.”
Yes that happened and considering what went on in that life, I guess I am more “free”.
If you make an appeal to the vapid desires of the masses, then the masses will eventually abandon you.
That is like looking forward to being the top blog on xanga, sometimes being the top blog is too much pressure.
If
you don’t spend time with your children to teach them how to survive in
both the world as it is, and the world as it may become, and do not
love them and enlighten them, then when you are old, they will discard
you.
I sort of discarded my children but they made out all right. We’ll see if they still welcome their birth dad.
If you buy into the system that poisons you air, water, and
food, and allow them to capture you within their government controlled
systems, such as Obama Care, and the various social programs, then you
will be a slave, and you will die a slow painful death.
The system is fighting the healthcare industry. The rates have been going higher and Obama care is an attempt to pay for the costs of the health care system. We can be a slave at times, othertimes we are too free and irresponsible.
@jwfarns - ”But whatever I get in this life is better that I deserve because what I deserve is hell.” Amen and I will laugh at the times I do get treated well and laugh at the bad times too.
@Pickwick12 -
“But none of these things move me
, because I have the one thing that is worth selling everything else to buy. I live for the one thing that is truly worth dying for. If that death comes sooner, or if it comes later, I know where I’m going. More importantly, I know Who I’m going to be with. That’s why I’m happy and why I have a peace that goes beyond any circumstance. “
Funny that each culture have their own version of the afterlife. Don’t you suppose they were invented to deal with human-suffering?
@trunthepaige - Your grandfather was fortunate. The vast majority of us won’t be nearly so lucky.
I should tell you about my grandmother. Growing up, she saw all of her family’s wealth taken in China’s communist revolution. Fleeing to Taiwan as an adult, she never saw her mother, father, or siblings ever again. At 65, she suffered a debilitating stroke. For the next thirty years, she sat in a body with most human joys stripped– without the ability to walk on her own, to use her arms effectively. Beyond the indignity of needing help to use the restroom or to eat, she saw her husband die. Each of her children abandon her. And in the end, she died uncomfortable, alone, and confused.
all roads end at death
@Celestial_Teapot - I believe the opposite–that human suffering is part of what causes us to desire the perfection of heaven and turns our attention to eternal instead of temporal things. In other words, it goes from the other direction. From eternal truth, back to our finite experiences. With heaven in mind, I can evaluate my human experiences in light of ultimate reality.
Quoth Eeyore in the Spring ‘morn!
One of the things that gets me through depressed times are inspirational quotes:
“Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail.”
or … as was stated on the cheesy FanBoys movie …
“Everyone needs a Death Star.”
another great one:
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” - Booker T. Washington
The most important thing to give meaning to life: a worthy and glorious goal.
Aww, this post is so sad.
The meaning of life is what you make it. So, what I got from this post is, this is how you’re going to end up, because you already set that path for yourself. It’s not easy by any means to accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself, but to say you’ll never accomplish them is ridiculous. Well, sure you won’t if that’s what you choose to believe. As far as work and sleep goes, personally I try not to sleep all that much, and I do things for work that I enjoy. I don’t care what other people tell me a “real job” is, because I figure they’re just jealous I’ll love my job forever. You don’t have to be just a cog in the corporate machine. Change the things you don’t like, instead of wallowing in them.
We spend so much time trying to do things to extend our lifespan and quality of life, but we never actually enjoy it. I personally don’t expect to live past 70 (if I make it to 30, lol), mainly because I don’t want to, and you can control that, too. Once you’re tired and ready to go, some sleeping pills and a bottle of wine will take you away. And as for dying alone, would you really rather die with a ton of loved ones standing around you? You really want their last memory of you to be you shitting and pissing your pants in death? Come on, now. I’d rather die with a little peace.
I think people worry way too much about stupid things. In the end, it doesn’t matter how much money you made or how many flowers you smelled, unless that’s what matters to you. Ask yourself honestly, what do you want to have accomplished by the time you die? And do it.
Hey Dan,
It is just a matter on what angle you look at things.
“If it aint broke, don’t fix it.”
“If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.”
If it looks like it’s going to rain, carry an umbrella. If not, one can always sing in the rain. You should see the surprised look on people’s faces and smiles when I do this. lol
Life is an adventure or nothing at all!
Cheers!
@Pickwick12 - My life isn’t mine anymore anyways, so I needn’t fear losing it!
You are welcome for the comment; if anything I do helps another come closer to God, then it was worth doing.
@Celestial_Teapot - Hence why I always seek to tell the truth.
You live to have experiences. That’s why so many people believe in a higher being – what’s the point of life, if all you do is die in the end?
This is why I smoke and don’t plan to have children. Most likely I’ll die before diaper stage and no stupid kids to grow up with no respect for anything, like kids now do. Nice try, life, but you aren’t gonna get me. =)
I had my own business (thrice….) and each time I let them go (sold one, closed one, and walked away clean from the last) — Life wasn’t in buying and selling, even if it made other people happy.
I had a corporate position in a Fortune 500 Company (Best Buy) for 13 years. It was nice, I loved the challenge and work, and I would gladly go back to it given the opportunity. I walked away from it because a job doesn’t dictate who I am, only what I do.
I had a family, a wife and two kids. The wife divorced me so that she could immediately remarry someone else. In the divorce she fought for sole custody of the kids, and me, thinking it would be better for them to have a stable home, I gave it to her. What that ultimately meant was that my son was institutionalized at the age of 12 by her… with me having no say in the matter… where he stayed for the next 7 years. The reason — he tried to murder his mom. My daughter, by the time she was 16, had tried to commit suicide three times. My control-freak ex-wife blamed me for both kids issues. All I can say is that I’m glad she divorced me because living under the mantra “All men are jerks and not to be trusted” (Which she repeated at least once a day for the entire 11 years of our marriage…) wasn’t exactly exhilarating. In the end my wife did leave me, as you predicted, and my kids grew up and moved on in life. But — life wasn’t meant to be lived through my children, and definitely wasn’t meant to be found in the arms of my spouse.
I have been a published writer, accomplished in the field and even won two awards for things I’d written. It still doesn’t amount to anything, and the awards given have long been forgotten by one and all. Life isn’t found in accolades and applause.
I’ll even confess this openly — I spent time in prison, 2 years nearly 20+ years ago. I saw the hard cases, the lifers, the dregs of humanity…. first hand. In the end, I chose not to grow hard or bitter or despondent or cruel nor to give up hope that things would get better…. but even that really wasn’t ultimately defining for my life, as critical a turning point as it proved to be for me.
I’ve learned only one thing in all my 49 years that really matters — There is a God, despite Celestial PeeSpot’s rantings to the contrary, that he’s intimately involved in all who allow him the freedom to do so, and that when I let go of all the other crap we try to define ourselves by and simply allow God to work as He will….. Life is much simpler and much more joyful.
someday I will die, I’ve almost died once already (wrote about that back in August of 2009 when it happened) and I’ll say now what I said then when it happened —- God knows what He’s doing, and I’ve nothing to fear in dieing.
Life is defined by how prepared you are for death…. and what lies beyond.
And celestial pee-spot, well, you’ve equally as much proof for the actual existence of Heaven as you claim you’ve proof for it’s non-existence. All I can say is that the whole matter of entropic downward spirals should be ample enough evidence that your capricious “god” named “Chance” didn’t create order from chaos (a violation of the very law that states this in absolute terms). The deeper we go, the more we find the imprint of a creator stamped into the very fabric of existence…. …..
I love your humor but most of all, I love that I get your humor!
Hope all is well, Dan.
Well, if you want to be a d*ck about it……
;P
@Ancient_Scribe - What an awesome response!
@crgrier - It’s all Him; my response is His gift to me.
People see the life of a priest/religious as one full of restrictions, rules, and lacking in freedom. I have never felt more free in all my life than I have in the last seven years.
This is not a new feeling. Here is what Solomon said about it 3000 years ago:
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.”