Advice to a Young Man

Hello young man,

Seldom have I met someone so young whose wit is so acute. Add to that, you’re a sight for sore eyes and some bell is ringing somewhere tolling: “This man is going to succeed!” But alas, bells can be off key. Depends on the ringer. That would be you. 

So I understand you’re taking a year off the schooling business to perhaps examine your options. Probably a wise choice. “Probably” because if you squander this year, it makes you vulnerable to that insidious disease, TV-itis.  That machine with its lights flickering constantly and people on a relentless screen showcasing an act of an act is a serious threat to a good young mind. It’s OK to remove that pacifier before a weird kind of sluggishness creeps in.

So allow me to make a couple of suggestions: take some time to read, perhaps study other languages (French and Spanish?), or cultures; read or pick up a pen and learn better your own language as you script your observations. Daily? Read about nutrition and the thrilling happenings in science; even the old farts are immensely enjoying their doctorates in genetics, physics, medical research and so many more avenues of light. They’re on a frontier and they know it.

Youth and beauty, through which you are just beginning to bloom now, are enchanting not only to others but even to yourself. The difference between a man and a flower is of course, free will. You can actually manage your own beauty and grow into a wise youth. And in that there is tangible pleasure. As your life takes on meaning, perhaps after all your schooling, you may notice how deeply satisfying it can be.

I urge you to use this year profitably… not just monetarily but more importantly intellectually. A man cannot enjoy a spiritual body of any worth leading to a secret continuity of pleasure if he hasn’t developed his intellectual muscles.

Yes, I have a few ideas about how you might make the most of your year off (assuming you intend to return to school which I totally and unreservedly support).

Perhaps a few words from you as to what you want to do with your life in that money-making department might help me give you at least advice that is pertinent.

A career in the creative world is full of twists and turns and tribulations and a horde of egomaniacs, all deluding themselves about the value of celebrity. But that is not to say that such careers wouldn’t be gratifying and potentially very lucrative. (I have two books in the library, another on the way, and I am still faced with ‘making a living.’ Now there’s a term I abhor: Life is given. Only the personality of the infinite can make a life.)

I’ll share in more detail the few ideas I have for you that might be helpful in the event you find anything here of interest. Whatever you decide and whenever, I do wish you well.