Song: "Here Comes the Sun" on one instrument, with dog!
Yesterday, I did a workout that was so hard that I couldn't get through all of the exercises at the end. (This is a good example of why you shouldn't be your own coach - without a set of exercises being dictated by the app, I would certainly have stopped before I actually did.)
Later that afternoon, Anne and I did a meditation session that started with a lesson about the stoics from William B. Irvine. In it, he talked about how making ourselves suffer intentionally can act like a vaccine against future suffering. IOW, we have to make ourselves stronger through suffering in order to not suffer as much with what life throws at us.
Later that afternoon, Anne and I did a meditation session that started with a lesson about the stoics from William B. Irvine. In it, he talked about how making ourselves suffer intentionally can act like a vaccine against future suffering. IOW, we have to make ourselves stronger through suffering in order to not suffer as much with what life throws at us.
Having had so many physical challenges, I have mixed reactions to his message. I don't want anyone to suffer, so I've been prone to safetyism - to a fault, I think.
(And I have sometimes wondered if some of my issues -- e.g., the two falls -- might not have happened if I had been physically stronger. However, I think those were both probably the consequences of low blood pressure combined with other factors - e.g., medicines and illness.)
I know that life has been pretty easy and fun for some people. But for many of us (if not most of us) there has been a fair amount of setbacks and disappointments. There is also the empathy some of us have with others suffering from the world's great injustice and cruelty.
If we want to be both happy and able to make a real difference, we can't be beaten down by the world.
The stronger we are - both physically and mentally - the better we will hold up with existence on this mortal coil, and thus better able to help those who are in a position where they are unable to help themselves.
And to get stronger, we have to put ourselves through controlled suffering. That extra set of push-ups or another mile of running. Forcing ourselves to focus (on a task or on meditation) in silence. Putting ourselves in situations outside our comfort zone when we can make that choice.
The stronger we are - both physically and mentally - the better we will hold up with existence on this mortal coil, and thus better able to help those who are in a position where they are unable to help themselves.
And to get stronger, we have to put ourselves through controlled suffering. That extra set of push-ups or another mile of running. Forcing ourselves to focus (on a task or on meditation) in silence. Putting ourselves in situations outside our comfort zone when we can make that choice.
I know that the initial conditions of the universe have left me incredibly privileged. Probably well over 99% of every sentient being who has ever existed on Earth would gladly have traded places with me, despite everything.
And yet, as I conclude in Losing My Religions, I have, since June 2021, felt beaten down and defeated. Combined with the fact that most (but not all) of my decisions have been mistakes, I am not sure what will happen going forward. But I am trying to make myself stronger to be able to better face what is to come.
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| Doesn't know what's coming. |
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