Cryptowisdom

Consider this statement:

"The amount of satisfaction you get from life depends largely on your own ingenuity, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness."

Such was the result of one of the relatively easy cryptograms I recently solved out of a puzzle magazine.  Usually the sentence I get is something silly or irrelevant, but this one give me some food for thought.  And the more I thought about it, the more I had to agree with Mr. Crypto...

It all arises from the need within all healthy human beings to feel that they have control over their own lives.  Having a sense of independence forces people to devise personal strategies for maximizing their opportunities to decide how their own lives are structured.  This doesn't preclude limitations and challenges; in fact, these tend to enhance the enjoyment of finally "solving the puzzle", much in the same way pleasure can come from decoding an especially difficult cryptogram.

Of course, if you are the type who spends much time blaming others, past and present, for your woes, then you probably aren't going to appreciate the above words of cryptowisdom.  I know people who can never let go of the bitterness contained within their memories enough to enjoy the present moment and its challenges and opportunities.  Such people seem to stumble through their lives, continually being "assaulted" by events that just "happen" to them.  I don't want to be like them.

No, instead it's much better to be rooted in the present and focus on thriving in it, like the puzzle says, through ingenuity, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness.  Sure, sometimes you may need to ask someone for a helping hand, but that should only be seen as using the available resources, not as a personal surrender to passive dependence.