The most important? That is a tough one and a bit problematic. You could say something like “love is the most important thing”, but unless you’ve actually experienced it, it would make no sense. We’re surrounded by all kinds of wisdom, but it only becomes clear after you’ve experienced it yourself.

If I would have to offer general advice, then it would probably be to be skeptical of the discussions you have in your own mind. They’re not a reflection of the truth or reality, but a reflection of your interpretation of the experiences you’ve had thus far. It’s always possible to get back closer to the truth, but it would require a lot of humility. It is not easy to let go of the elaborate illusions we’ve created to shield ourselves, and they are supposed to be a shield. But the truth doesn’t actually hurt. It’s our interpretation of the truth that is painful.

What is also problematic is that if hammer is the only tool we have, we see all problems as nails. If the culture you live in has a certain idea of what a successful life looks like, everything else will be compared to that. It’s the silhouette for everything in life, and it creates huge frustration and depression, when things don’t go the way you think they should go. Why would one need to have a mission in life? A purpose? To leave anything behind? There’s this idea that to be successful, you need to be something that can be defined. A doctor, a lawyer, to have a career that is moving upwards, and then we attach that thinking to everything, even spirituality. What if the purpose is simply to learn and never graduate? To just try to respond to everything with compassion and love, but even if you fail to do so, it’s OK. Beyond that, everything would be possible. I think that the concept of linear time and a linear lifetime with goal posts here and there is causing more harm than good for us. “I’m at this age and I’ve managed to do nothing”. That’s not true. How liberating it would be to be able to see the world every day as this vast playing field with so many opportunities for things to do, without having to attach the idea to everything that it should be “useful” in our attempt to create a life we think we should have? Perpetual misery and hell to always compare your situation to what you think it should be, instead of accepting it for what it actually is. To miss out on the pure and simple moments, because we’re too caught up in thinking that everything is nothing, because it’s not something we think it should be.