THOUGHTS

Existence is a selfish thing. No matter how close to someone we may be, and no matter how much thirst they may be experiencing, when we turn on the tap, we can only quench our own parched throat. So much for sharing! Although, as they never fail to point out at the beginning of a flight, once we have put on our own oxygen mask, we will be in a better position to help others gain access to theirs.
How are you supposed to stand up against the combined might of the forces of fate and fortune? They have decided your destiny. Their committee has met. Their edict, while it has yet to be formally declared, is written, ready to be read. It is all a done deal. You can accept it gracefully or resentfully. That's about your only choice. Well, as a matter of fact, that's not how things stand. You've got the power to change it all. As you'll discover to your delight, the last word has not yet been spoken.
What if you have been hypnotised? What if, while you were in your trance, you were programmed to respond to a key trigger? You were told that, the moment you heard 'hippopotamus' you would... Ha! Look! There you go. That clearly was the word. What strange behaviour you just exhibited. I am, of course, teasing but I am also trying to make an important point. You do have disproportionate responses sometimes, sparked off by associations in your subconscious.
Great generals are not afraid of defeat. They may not be so foolhardy as to lead their troops into a battle they can't win, but nor are they so cautious as to keep away from conflict simply because there's a small chance of failure. We can't guarantee your current campaign won't founder on an unforeseen problem. You're right to acknowledge that risk, and to do all in your power to reduce it. At the same time, though, during this strangely challenging, yet potentially profitable you must keep up a crucial fight.
The best way to persuade someone of something is to make them think that it is their idea. Drop subtle hints. Hold leading conversations. Patiently lead a person down the road you have already travelled and wait for them to draw the same conclusions that you have. An argument now is based largely on the fact that two people have had a different experience. There won't be agreement until each understands what the other is talking about.
If everything really is predestined, what does that make us? Robots? Puppets? Why waste all that mental energy trying to reach decisions? Why eat up all those emotional reserves on worry? If nothing we can do will make a difference, we may as well just do nothing. Ah, but we can make a difference, it isn't all set in stone and we are neither robots nor puppets! The personal, moral choices that you make, will turn out to have a big, positive impact on the way your future turns out.
If a lie is repeated often enough, it becomes the truth. Wherever, though, truth is stranger than fiction, no amount of repetition will render it believable. We see what we want to see... and accept what we want to accept. This is why, though people are often easily deceived, they are very difficult to enlighten. If you can't get across the message that you really want to get across, get across a message that some folk ARE willing to hear... and which will at least go some way towards accomplishing something useful.
Who owns the past? Nobody. It belongs equally to us all. Historians may argue about the way things were, but nobody can conclusively prove them right or wrong. What's gone is gone. The evidence it has left behind is too flimsy to interpret with certainty. Who owns the present? Everyone! This is your world and my world. We can all choose whether to accept it or reject it. Who owns the future? You do. It is within your power to make your brightest dream come true and you'll see the proof of that.
If you don't really care, how are you ever going to make anything happen? To obtain power, you must have passion. Yet if you care too much, how are you ever going to know where to draw the line? To obtain wisdom, you must have objectivity. Somehow, now, you have to balance a deep desire with an important inclination towards apathy. Then, when the moment is right, you will know it... and you will also know exactly what to do, challenge involves making the right kind of commitment.
The world is no longer quite the simple place it may have been once. Yet our hearts and minds are no more complicated than they have ever been. We still wish for what we have always wished for. We still fear what we have always feared. It's important this week to recognise the existence of ancient, primordial impulses. Too much explanation and justification is covering up something that's better seen for the raw emotion it really represents. The key to happiness involves positivity, love and forgiveness. And you've got plenty of that.