I am going to give you a piece of advice... advice I wish I'd been told in guidance class back in high school, in between the don't-do-acid and don't-drink-and-drive films. I wish our counselors had told us, 'When you grow older a dreadful, horrible sensation will come over you. It's called loneliness, and you think you know what it is now, but you don't. Here is the list of the symptoms, and don't worryโloneliness is the most universal sensation on the planet. Just remember one factโloneliness will pass. You will survive and you will be a better human for it.
Douglas CouplandWhen you're young, you always feel that life hasn't yet begunโthat "life" is always scheduled to begin next week, next month, next year, after the holidaysโwhenever. But then suddenly you're old and the scheduled life didn't arrive. You find yourself asking, 'Well then, exactly what was it I was havingโthat interludeโthe scrambly madnessโall that time I had before?
Douglas CouplandI think if human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Wouldn't life be more interesting that way? And now that I think about it, why the heck don't they? Who made the rule that everybody has to dress like sheep 364 days of the year? Think of all the people you'd meet if they were in costume every day. People would be so much easier to talk to - like talking to dogs.
Douglas Coupland