What's so fascinating and frustrating and great about life is

“What’s so fascinating and frustrating and great about life is that you’re constantly starting over, all the time, and I love that.” — Billy Crystal

In these words, Billy Crystal, the master of laughter and reflection, captures one of the deepest paradoxes of human existence: that life is a cycle of endless beginnings. His words shimmer with both weariness and wonder, for they speak of the truth that no matter how old we grow, how much we achieve, or how far we travel, we are always brought back to the humble starting line — to begin again. To some, this seems a curse, the eternal undoing of stability. But to the wise, as Crystal shows, it is a gift — the divine rhythm of renewal that keeps the soul alive.

To be “constantly starting over” is to be human. The ancients understood this well. Each sunrise was a rebirth, each season a reminder that nothing stays finished. The farmer must till the soil anew, the artist must face a blank canvas again, the lover must learn to speak tenderness afresh each morning. Crystal calls this both fascinating and frustrating, for it is both blessing and burden. The heart longs for permanence, yet life insists on change. We climb one mountain only to find another beyond it. And yet, he does not despair — he says, “I love that.” In this, he reveals the attitude of the spiritually mature, who learn to see repetition not as futility, but as opportunity.

The origin of such wisdom lies not in philosophy alone, but in experience hard-won. Billy Crystal, like all who have lived long in art and life, has known both triumph and loss. From the heights of laughter to the valleys of grief, he has learned that no success is permanent, no failure final. Every role, every stage, every era of life demands that we learn again — to listen, to adapt, to try, to believe. His words, though light on the tongue, carry the gravity of resilience — the courage to greet each new beginning with open arms instead of fear.

History too teaches this sacred law of renewal. Thomas Edison, after thousands of failed experiments, famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Each failure was not an ending, but a beginning cloaked in disappointment. Abraham Lincoln, defeated in elections again and again, began anew each time, until destiny opened the door to greatness. Even the phoenix of ancient legend, consumed in flame, rose again from its own ashes — proof that destruction and creation are but two breaths of the same eternal force. The truly great do not resist starting over; they embrace it as the way of growth.

To “start over” is not to erase the past, but to transform it into wisdom. Each new beginning is born from the ashes of the old — carrying forward the lessons of what has been. When Crystal says he loves the constant restarts, he speaks of the joy that comes from movement, from learning, from being forever a student of life. The static man, who seeks to complete life and rest, dies before his time. But the one who accepts life’s continual unfolding finds freshness in every dawn. For every beginning is sacred, every moment of renewal a spark of divine creativity.

Yet this truth is not easy. The soul resists change because it fears loss. The comfort of completion seduces us into stagnation. To start again requires humility — to admit that we do not know everything, that we can still grow, still fail, still hope. It is the humility of the apprentice, the openness of the child. The wise never cease to be beginners. That is why Crystal’s joy is so profound — he delights not in mastery, but in the eternal art of becoming.

So, O traveler through the passage of time, remember this: life will make you start over again and again — and that is its mercy. Each ending is an invitation, each loss a seed of renewal. When a door closes, another world awaits. When you stumble, rise and begin anew. Do not curse the endless beginnings, for they are the rhythm of the cosmos, the heartbeat of growth. Love them, as Billy Crystal does — for in them lies your immortality. Every day, every failure, every dawn is a chance to begin again, to rediscover wonder, and to live not as one who has arrived, but as one who is forever arriving.