The encephalo-oniero journals of al-Mirzam

From the encephalo-onierojournals of Faris al-Mirzam, Captain of the Nashira:

It is the first day of the rest of your life. You hold a copy of the Kitab al-Alacir in your hands, fingers eagerly turning the pages. Everything is true. Anything is possible. Inspiration strikes you like lightning.
*****
It is the first day of the rest of your life. You push your way through a standing-room only crowd to see the face of a man who sets the room ablaze with his ideas for an era of unheralded peace and cooperation through the virtues of Science. His ideas go unheeded, and storm clouds gather on the horizon.
*****
It is the first day of the rest of your life. Japan is at war with China and you rescue a young orphan boy of otherworldly provenance from the mean streets of Hong Kong at the behest of a dragon. It is the quiet before the storm.
*****
It is the first day of the rest of your life. The world is at war. Again. An alliance forms to oppose an axis of aggression. In the crucible of the horrors of war, you meet and make the best friends you will ever know, as you fight for a better world for your ward. A storm of ideas in conflict rages across the globe.
*****
It is the first day of the rest of your life. The war was won, but some battles never end. Unable to face your ward with the failures of your Tradition to deliver a better world for your ward, you run and retreat into a life filled with ever increasing bouts of Quiet. Whispers of maraud follow in your wake before you fade away from view. You can barely hear the lightning strike's thunder anymore.
*****
It is the first last day of the rest of your life. Under an alien sky, atop barren hostile soil, surrounded by a haze of ash and smoke, an unimaginable clarity of mind and peace of heart fills your soul with love. You will give your son the freedom to fight for the better world you were unable to achieve. Everything is true. Anything is possible. Inspiration strikes you like lightning.