Here is the list of things I believe I know with absolute certainty:

• Life is no coincidence. Each of us has a purpose to fulfill—a tree to plant, a lesson to learn, a teaching to share. The most important day of our life is the day we discover why.
• One day, it will be our last. How do we want to live that day? Let’s begin living it today, because today could be that final day. We take nothing from this world except what we’ve left in the hearts of those who passed through our lives.
• Each day brings a sunrise and a sunset. Nature reminds us that everything changes and nothing lasts forever. Every day has its darkness—fear and despair—but that darkness isn’t eternal, and the sun always rises again.
• Only the present exists. The past is a memory that gave us triumphs or lessons. Our past decisions have brought us exactly where we are. The future doesn’t exist yet; it takes shape gradually through our choices. The only sure thing is the here and now. What decisions do we make in each minute we hold in our hands?
• Things can always get better, just as they can get worse. Let us give thanks daily for the blessings we have. Let us recognize that we have much to be happy for—and that many would gladly carry twice our burden for half our reward.
• Reaching the top is easy; staying there is hard. What isn’t cared for, is lost. What isn’t valued, is lost. What isn’t appreciated, is lost. And once lost, it is rarely regained.
• What we give returns to us—with interest. Good deeds, charity, compassion, love, and care for the environment are repaid generously in this life. Just as today’s financial well-being comes from yesterday’s saving and investment, or today’s diet and exercise bring tomorrow’s health and vitality, what we receive from life and nature now is shaped by what we gave yesterday.
• The family we build is more important than the one we come from. We cannot choose the family we’re born into, but we can choose the one we wish to have. Caring for our parents and siblings matters, but it should never take precedence over our partner and children.
• It’s never too late to start again. To learn a new profession, pick up a new hobby, let go of a relationship, a job, or people who don’t deserve to be in our lives. To recover our faith, rediscover joy, and welcome the love of God. It’s never too late to choose to be happy.