EROS

I am uncommon. That is my choice.
I choose liberty over security. Life is opportunity, which I exploit fully. My independence is primary, reliance on the state, or other men, can only humble and dull me – extinguish my fire.
I choose to risk – success is not a right, but no failure is ever complete.
I choose incentive and reward over a dole. I profit from challenge because I am able and self-disciplined. To exert, to earn, to fulfill and excel - these are thrills far too great to trade for guarantees.
I choose freedom over beneficence. My dignity and integrity are worth more than any handout. I refuse the unearned – in matter and in spirit. I am my only master – I do not cower, I bend to no threat.
I am man. I stand proud, erect, and fearless. My vision is power – and a challenge to the whole of existence – my mind is its source.
I think, I speak, I act – for myself. I exist at the disposal of no one, I live at the expense of no other. It is my right – and mine alone – to enjoy the benefits, and suffer the consequences, of my creations.
I choose the means, I choose the ends – I alone am responsible for my life. I am proud, I am noble, I am great.
I made this.

In the Time of Your Life
In the time of your life, live – so that in that good time, there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life that your life touches.
Seek goodness everywhere and, when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed.
Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption.
Encourage virtue in every heart where it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world.
Ignore the unimportant, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the rational mind.
Be not the inferior of any man, nor aspire to superiority over men. Remember that every man is a variation on the same theme, but let no man’s guilt be yours, nor allow yourself claim to another man’s innocence.
Despise evil and wickedness, and fight it by the power of your own virtue – with every fiber of your being. For the men who turn to evil will prey upon your understanding, your generosity, and your love of life.
Have no shame in being gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill. And have no regret.
In the time of your life, live – so that in that wondrous time, you shall not add to the sorrow and misery of the world, but experience the infinite delight of achieving the happiness possible only to you while in it.
-- William Saroyan (1939) / revised by Eros (2005)