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They ought to hand the night a ticket
For speeding, it’s a crime.
I had so much to tell you,
Yeah, but now it’s closing time. —Leonard Cohen

The person who thought and wrote like that can teach us a lot about life, no?

But as everyone is busy, today we only have time for a couple of Leonard’s life-empowering reminders, which we discovered in one of the best books written about him, A Broken Hallelujah:

#1. There’s no inherent evil in the world; it is created by thoughtless folks in challenging situations.

Surprised?

Probably not. Because you know that thoughtlessness is poisonous. Just look around: In situations big and small, thoughtless folks tend to be destructive, producing anxiety, tiredness, and all other flavours of kerfuffle. ?

#2. Life doesn’t run, it walks.

According to Leonard, this is great news: We’re given a lot of time to work on being thoughtful and good at something. Specifically, we’re given a lifetime.

Leonard would come to be a poster child for that idea. For many years, too many years to count, agent after agent declined him. Over and over again they said that he was too old, that his songs were too sad, and so on. Yes, even Leonard Cohen was not always Leonard Cohen.

But he never gave in. Because of intuition, providence, you-name-it, he understood that life doesn’t run, it walks. So he thoughtfully kept on working on his craft. His entire lifetime.

And that same privilege is available to you. You too can invest a lifetime into being thoughtful and good at something, no? ?

Apr 4, 2017