The Secret to Life

My father told me, “Add garlic.” I was about to cook fried rice and was in the process of melting the butter. He said everything nice starts with garlic and butter.” It’s a simple premise but it works. I wondered if life could be that simple.

Finding your “garlic and butter” in life proves to be a much harder task. I have spent twenty years searching for it, and even today it manages to evade me. There are no signs of it arriving soon. As much as I desire to please my friends and family, I refuse to conform to what society dictates me to do: To study hard, to be rich or financially stable or to be ‘successful.’ What is success anyways? To me, it is nothing but what separates a man’s sorrow from his joy. I firmly believe that a man’s measure of success depends on him and him alone.

Nowadays, when in doubt, I reach for my right pocket and pull out my optimism. But I never forget what’s on my left pocket: reality. Hold on to both and everything else will make sense. Live for something, a deeper purpose than your new cell phone, your ‘reputation’ or your fancy girlfriend, and then you’ll have everything.

I haven’t found my “garlic and butter.” But I’m not rushing to do so. I take uncertainty as an adventure and a smile as my boarding pass.

Yes. I have changed…