Life is art. We'd like to believe that life is science, that there are precise universal laws for everything and, if we can just memorize the laws, and act in perfect accordance with them, we'll know exactly the results we'll get. But we've been given a more interesting existence than that cosmic scenario would provide.

We're all living with uncertainty, always encountering the unknown. We have great advice from those who have travelled this path before us, but it won't guarantee us the results we want. It will just position us for better results. It's all an art, not a science. We can still falter and fail. But that's Ok. Everyone does. That's why life takes courage, resilience, and skill.

If you're far enough along in the great scheme of things to be reading a blog like this, then you know what I'm talking about. We'd all feel relieved if life and love could be accomplishments like chemistry: mix the right things together under the right conditions, and you always get the right results. But what we've been given is vastly more interesting and exciting than that. We've been given the chance for real risk and true adventure. We still need each other's advice. But we can't give or receive guarantees. Yet, that's Ok. We're all in it together.

So seek advice. Give advice. Cultivate your skills and your art. Help others to do likewise. That way, you play to win, and to help others to win. And that's exactly what we're here to do. If this is our attitude, then any loss can just be a step in the direction of a win, and of a worthy work of art.