When will it end?
It won't. The insanity, the fighting, the battle of perceived good vs. perceived good. When will it say "ya know what, we've put you through the ringer. Today, just put your feet up and all will be sunshine and rainbows."
We do expect this to happen from time to time. It's natural to have a break from things. From not having to be "on". Isn't it?
It's natural to want it. Not something that should be expected though.
I think the happiest people are the most resilient. "Amor fati" is a Stoic saying which means "love your fate." No matter what happens, you're ready to make the best out of it.
This is critical when the world gives you evidence after evidence of the new ways that it can be relentless. It does not relent. There is no relenting. No relent! (sounds like a George / Jerry dialog).
Expect the insanity. Embrace the insanity. Thrive in the insanity. Learn from the insanity.
The insanity becomes a log put onto your fire where your resilience and strength is needed to keep the fire going.
Macro things are happening. Micro things are happening. They will continue to happen. Why are pieces of advice and quotes and snippets from 2,000+ years ago still relevant? Because civilization has not yet found a way to stop the insanity.
Don't expect that to change. And be prepared for it.
Man does not simply exist, but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment.
— -- Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
And where can I go to escape death in any case? Tell me the country, give me the name of the people who are safe from death, where I can get asylum; provide me with the magic charm. No, I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it - or do I have to die moaning and groaning too?
— -- Epictetus, Discourses & Selected Writings
Events, even the harsh ones, always meet the expectations of a wise mind that knows how life really behaves, not how it wishes life would behave. None of the twists and turns of your unfolding life will matter anymore because you expect them and know exactly how to deal with them. If you anchor yourself in the truth, you move above thought and into the bliss of peace where nothing shakes your happiness. You move from a state of happiness that is conditional on external events to a state of permanent joy.
— -- Mo Gawdat, Solve for Happy
Rads Take
Power of decisions and control over your own life.
Don't complain when life does what life does.
Accountability for your own happiness.
The three quotes this week boil down to these statements. You control your life. Your decisions. Your happiness. What happens around you and what will happen eventually (death and taxes) should be baked into your expectations. So that when we see the inopportune come to fruition, that doesn't upset our happiness equation:
Level of Happiness = Your perception of the events of your life
- Your expectations of how life should behave.
In that equation taken from page 26 of Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat, your happiness is tied to your perception and your expectations. Both of which are in your control. You control your decisions as Frankl notes. You control your ability to complain as Epictetus notes. You control your perceptions and expectations as Mo notes.
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All these smart people with good advice. We hear good advice. We are not perfect. We are human. That does not excuse us from our mistakes. But what makes us human is our brains. We can't and don't want to escape our humanity. In fact, we need it now more than ever - thanks AI....
But if you read this and you hear me pontificate and the source content pontificate and think "easy enough for you!" No one is perfect, but that doesn't mean we are devoid of providing advice and reminders. Yourself included.
So I will continue to do as I say and hope that this content, these reminders, might help you in one life situation or help you quell some instant reactions. For the next 2 weeks.