In the quiet moments, I often find myself pondering the human condition. What are we doing to one another? What is the meaning of our suffering and the challenges we face collectively? These age-old questions arise within us all: Who am I? What am I? What is the purpose of this fleeting existence? Are all my experiences, memories, connections, and thoughts meaningless? Will I vanish into the dark and silence as if I never existed? Or, as many theists believe, am I here to worship God and transition to an eternal state of bliss or suffering in the afterlife? Some even believe that the soul will recycle endlessly until it discovers its true purpose. I find the latter torture, to go on and on with life and death for some shallow raison d’être. And then what? Go to the source of all souls and be united in some metaphysical hive mind?

That doesn’t mean that I find eternal bliss or torture not a worrisome prospect either. I’m all for justice for rape and murder victims or finally some reward for the patient and good destitute people. But eternally? I don’t know. But that’s exactly the thing, right? We don’t know. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not an atheist either. I find atheists boring creatures with a lack of imagination and wonder. Stuck in these perpetual lines that they have made for themselves in a bid to understand what is around them. They say the same, by the way, about theists—strange people who attribute everything to some people in the sky in order to understand what is around them.

Regardless of our beliefs, one fact remains: our lives are very short, and time slips by swiftly. To my young readers, it's crucial to remember this simple truth. Time, as many have said before me, is like water slipping through your fingers. For some, the bowl holding that water is small, and before you know it, you've run out. And for the lucky ones, that bowl is large and adorned with first-world comforts. For others, that bowl is made of mud and cracks. But the result is inevitably the same. In the end, most of us wish for more time. But to do what exactly? What is it that you wish to do differently? What factors of your life do you still think you can change? If you would have wanted to change something about your life, you would have already done it. The fact of the matter is, up until your dying breath, you made decisions and you thought about their consequences. Rarely are there people who would have changed their choices. Most of us, however, are slaves to internal and external factors that weigh in the best possible result for that time and moment. So once more, what would you change if you had more time? Because that’s what it really is, you can’t go back in time, you can only go forward, so what decision would you ironically reverse so that you could be someone better?

Age does not matter; what does is the tangible present. This is the essence of what sages and prophets of old have proclaimed from mountaintops and desert sands alike. Use the life you have as efficiently as possible for good. Serve others as often as you can. View each other as brothers and sisters, as if we all share the same mother. Avoid lying, cheating, and hurting one another. Be the best example to everyone you meet, consistently. This simple concept benefits everyone, yet we often succumb to arrogance, narcissism, egocentrism, and at times, outright evil.

Evil is a strange thing. You can be a loving husband and father while simultaneously spreading corruption and death. Let’s take, as an example, the soldier who fights on the battlefield. He might hug his young daughter with genuine love, kiss his wife passionately, and bid them farewell with unparalleled warmth. Yet, on the battlefield, he may slaughter children, rape the wives of his enemies, and destroy without a shred of compassion everything his masters command him to destroy. He enjoys that darkness as much as he enjoys the warmth of his family. He is good in times of peace, but pure evil in times of conflict.

What separates good people from bad is consistency. Good people remain good regardless of the circumstances and make the right choices even when it goes against their self-interest. Good people are what hold this world together and bring sanity to a world filled with insanity. They have chosen to understand that the purpose of life is not to hoard wealth or to be loved and admired. It’s to be a flame on top of a candle that burns so brightly and strong that its heat lights up all the candles that are not lit. Its purpose is to give warmth as much as it can until it vanishes into the night, paving the way for new candles to do the same. For death is an inevitable truth that is patiently waiting. It is, in the end, all about the story you want to tell death that matters. Because, in the end, no one is there to listen to your story except for that inevitable truth. And I’m saying all of this as the biggest hypocrite, for I am a slave to my desires and needs like you are. But I do like to think that I live by a code and that that would be the thing that would ensure that my story would be an enjoyable one when I’m embraced by that cold truth. I’m collecting logs for that cold day to keep me warm. Just me, death, and my candle. Telling my story.