That Dalai Lama Quotation, and the Historical Sceptic

There has been an excellent "quote" (I'm putting that word in literal quotes for a reason) going around the blogs lately. It is a supposed quote from the Dalai Lama. Oh, ahem -- what I mean is that there is absolutely no evidence that he ever said it.  But if you post something to Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, etc. then is must be true, right? (See NT Blog: That Dalai Lama Quotation, and the Historical Sceptic) Regardless, whoever actually generated this quote is awesome:

"The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, ‘Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.’"

I rarely, if ever, post things not directly related to CS on this blog. So, why did I post this? For two reasons:

1. Stop trusting everything you read online. Learn how to use the web to investigate sources of information before spreading it
2. It's a really thought-provoking quote. 'Nuff said.  

Reflect on your own life. Adjust your priorities. Determine what is really important in your life, and start living it now. All you have is now, and despite what your spouse, friend, relative, girl/boyfriend, parents, peers, blog, your dog, news source, or your professor will tell you, now is good. Be thankful for it.

Now, I need to eat my own words.