Journal
Another chance on this Earth
I think you will get another chance on this earth.
Another chance to speak your truth
and organize your life after it.
Another chance to create good work,
serve others,
advance things and heal wounds.
But in this body you will only have one chance.
One chance to read good books,
dress really well,
having great conversations with the best people,
and pursue what really matters.
And, as important, to not engage in what’s not true to you.
One chance.
This lifetime.
Ambition is great,
and growing is foundational,
but when the aim always is future success –
when you’re always in a rush to the next level –
it’s so much harder to enjoy the work,
to play the long game,
and being grateful for what’s beautiful, meaningful and good right now.
Gratitude for this moment helps you very much to celebrate your life and making the most of it.
No one knows how much time we have, and our mortality is what makes life and your most important relationships so precious. So precious.
But as Kahlil Gibran puts it: “Love knows not its depth until the moment of parting.”
Pain is inevitable in a lifetime. Sorrow is guaranteed.
And we need friction and challenges to grow.
We need hard times to cultivate wisdom, build inner strength, and, ultimately, to really appreciate the good times.
And the drive to accomplish something spectacular is needed to do just that.
But when every part of every day carries a never-ending feeling of dissatisfaction,
a non-stop nagging of never being good enough,
a constant search for validation,
it’s much harder to connect with your true longings,
to live with gratitude and vibrancy,
to stay in the work long enough for a breakthrough,
and to enjoy profound earthly pleasures:
– A peaceful morning walk or an intense training session in the afternoon sun.
– A profound insight, helpful for the rest of your life.
– A big laugh.
– A good meal, with deep conversations, with vibrant, caring and interested people.
– Driving within a beautiful summer landscape at sundown, listening to a strong song, noticing that peaceful, but at the same time intense, sensation of awe within you and wonder around you.
– Doing gardening work,
creating some art,
without distractions,
including those
in your own head.
That’s freedom.
That’s possible.
But when you’re always looking for something better,
someone more interesting or higher in rank,
when you see everything you do as a vehicle to something in the future,
to the next thing,
to more, more, more,
a lot of things (and people) eventually lose their beauty, meaning and inherent value.
And so do you.
Who(!?) wants to spend time with someone who are always on the go,
never mindful and calm, curious about others and thankful for what is,
with eyes constantly on the future, their phone or vibrating Apple watch?
Instead of being in the conversation, deepening connection, asking questions thoughtfully and answering them thoroughly, life becomes a race to…
nowhere???
It’s exhausting and, deep down, not that inspiring.
But the ego wants it.
It wants to be special, better and more interesting than others.
It wants to be viewed as significant and it has to defend itself against different opinions and life philosophies.
But reality can be richer than it seems.
It can be beautiful, peaceful and kind,
slow and highly inspiring,
but that requires a commitment to deep work, and to be very conscious about what human and digital energies you connect with.
It requires that you are honing in on what really matters,
and having values,
filters,
routines and discipline
to let go of all the noise and brain-dead information that come at you at every moment in time.
The world is very much a shallow, hyperfast, digital theatre with (very) poor abilities to focus, to care for one another, and to accept even brief moments without external stimuli.
That’s not a world you want to engage in.
That’s not a foundation to grow from.
To feel at peace in.
‘Reality’ is highly subjective,
so to lead a life that is high in meaning and purpose,
with deep connections and time spent on what you really love,
you need to make some decisions.
Yes or No?
Comfort or Growth?
Creating your own path or following what’s expected?
Pessimistic or Optimistic?
Nurturing Soul or Ego?
You need to make some decisions and install some routines that will create the moments that ultimately create your life.
The life you want.
Committing and re-committing over and over again.
And staying true to your personality trait, your values, goals and life direction when things get hard,
when life is testing you,
and when other people have a fundamental different approach to life, unable to respect yours.
That’s daily work and your ultimate responsibility.
Committing to that responsibility is motivating and strengthening in itself.
And if you’re doing it right,
taking responsibility for what is yours to carry,
you might not need,
or want,
another chance on this earth.
If you live right –
where the foundation is to grow,
to serve,
to take care of your people and deepen your interests –
then you might be grateful,
happy,
peaceful and ready,
when you enter the final hour of your last day on this earth.
As Tom Robbins says:
“Freedom is sweater than fame, in in the end, it’s love,
and love alone,
that really matters.”
Live your standards.
!
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