Six Brodsky Commandments

An excerpt from the famous speech of Joseph Brodsky, he said at the stadium in December 1988 to the graduates of the University of Michigan.

1. Do everything to avoid to ascribe to themselves the status of the victim.
No matter how disgusting or was your position, try not to blame external forces: history, state, bosses, race, parents, phase of the moon, childhood, late landing on the pot - the menu extensive and tedious

. At the moment when you lay the blame on something, you undermine your own determination to change something, and increase the vacuum irresponsibility, which are so fond of filling the demons and demagogues, for the paralyzed will - no joy for the angels

. In general, try to respect the life, not only for its charms, but also for its difficulties. They are part of the game, and the good in them is that they are not cheating. Whenever you are desperate and on the verge of despair, when you have trouble or difficulty, remember: this is the life speaks to you on a single well-known for her language

2.. Learn to forgive.
The world in which we have entered, has a good reputation. This is not a nice place, as you will soon discover, and I doubt that it will be much more pleasant to the time when you leave.

However, this is the only world available: an alternative does not exist, and if it existed, there is no guarantee that it would be much better than this. So try not to pay attention to those who try to make your life miserable. There will be a lot - both in official positions, and self-appointed

. What do your enemies, acquires its value or importance on how you respond. Therefore, will rush through or past them as if they were yellow rather than red light. So you save your brain cells from the useless agitation. Switch the channel that you can not stop the broadcasting of the network, but the best you can at least reduce its rating

3.. Focus on the accuracy of your language.
Try to expand your vocabulary and to deal with it the way you deal with your bank account. Give him a lot of attention and try to increase their dividends.

The goal is to give you the opportunity to express themselves as much as possible and more accurately. In short, the goal - to your balance. For the accumulation of nevygovorennogo, unspoken properly can lead to neurosis.

To avoid this, do not necessarily turn into a bookworm. You just need to buy a dictionary and read it every day, and sometimes - and the book of poems. They are cheap enough, but even the most expensive among them are much smaller than a single visit to a psychiatrist.

< 4. Try to be kind to your parents.
If this sounds too much like "Honour thy father and thy mother," I beg your pardon. I just want to say: do not try to rise up against them, for, in all probability, they will die before you, so you can rid yourself of at least this source of guilt, if not grief

. If you need to rebel with all these "I-don't-take-you-have-no-penny", a rebellion against those who are not so easily vulnerable. Parents - too close target (as, however, as brothers, sisters, wives or husbands). The distance is such that you can not miss.

< 5. Try not to rely too much on politicians.
Not so much because they are unintelligent or dishonest as often happens, but because of the scope of their work, which is too large for even the best among them. They can reduce some social evil, but not eradicate it. Whatever may be significant improvement, from an ethical point of view, it will always be negligible, because there will always be those - at least one person - who does not receive benefits from this improvement

. The world is not perfect. Golden Age has never been and never will be. In light of this - or rather, in the dark - you have to rely on their own home cooking, that is to rule the world alone. But even within your own cake, you must prepare for the fact that you probably have enjoyed equally and gratitude and frustration.

< 6. Try to be humble.
Even now we have too many - and very soon there will be many more. This scramble for a place under the sun certainly is due to the other. The fact that you have to step on someone's foot, does not mean that you have to stand on their shoulders. So, if you want to become rich, or famous, or both, and others - in a good hour, but not given to the entire

. Always remember that your side is always someone there - neighbor. Nobody wants you to love him, but try not to bother him too much and do not hurt him. At the very least, try to remember, from a far - from the stars, from the depths of the universe, possibly from the opposite end - come, please do not do this, as well as the idea is to love your neighbor as yourself.