All men and women are born,

live, suffer and die;

what distinguish us one from another are our dreams,

whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things,

and what we do to make them come about…

We do not choose to be born.

We do not choose our parents.

We do not choose our historical epoch,

the country of our birth,

nor the immediate circumstances of our upbringing.

We do not,

most of us,

choose to die;

nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death.

But within this realm of choicelessness,

we do choose how we live.

Joseph Epstein