There's Always A Price For What You

He'd Once Heard A Story About A Monastery On The Top Of Some Mountain In Japan Or Somewhere. After A Long Trek In The Cold To Get There, The Monks Would Offer To Sell You A Cup Of Coffee. You Had A Choice: There Was A Two-dollar Cup - Or A Two-hundred- Dollar Cup. When Pressed To Explain The Difference, The Monks Were Reported To Say, 'a Hundred And Ninety-eight Dollars.'

He Had Regrets, Of Course, But Not So Many That He Would Lose Any Sleep Over Them. Life Surprised Him Now And Then And He Didn't Much Care For Surprises, Unless He Was Passing Them Out. But - What Was To Be Done? You Had To Deal With The Reality, He Had Learned That Over The Years, No Matter How Much You Didn't Like It

Poverty's Potential For Character Building Is Far Overrated.

You Can’t Embrace Your Whole Life If You’re Shut Down.

When They'd Been On The Run, With Death Maybe Lying In Wait Around Any Corner, They Had Never Been More Alive. When Each Day Might Be Your Last, It Made A Big Difference. You Couldn't Maintain That State Forever, Of Course; The Stress Would Eat You Alive, But Putting Yourself At Risk Did Bring Out Your Best-or Your Worst