#453 Everything is going to be okay

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone

Blaise Pascal, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/19682-all-of-humanity-s-problems-stem-from-man-s-inability-to-sit

We often equate sitting quietly in a room alone with loneliness: a word with a negative emotional charge.

But sitting quietly in a room can also bring solitude: the simple state of being by yourself, without any negative connotation.

Solitude can give relief of the pressure to be constantly “socializing” (through social media apps or in real life).

Relief of the pressure to socialize can make space.

Space you can use to hear the thoughts in your head and the feelings in your body.

Thoughts and feelings that can tell you what’s truly important to you.

And then you realize that what’s truly important to you is nothing new.

It’s something you already knew, before you learned not to listen.

Eating junk food for dinner. Because that’s what you always did.

Having home-grown vegetables for lunch. Because that’s what you always did.

Scrolling through social media apps for 20 minutes. Because that’s what you always did.

Meditating for 20 minutes every morning. Because that’s what you always did.

Working 15-hour days. Because that’s what you always did.

Taking the time to relax, let the mind wander, and be with family. Because that’s what you always did.

Our lives are full of predictable pathways, paved and reinforced by our past and present actions.

But not all pathways are desirable.

Luckily the past doesn’t equal the future.

You can change your present actions to change the course of your pathway, away from a predictable future towards a desirable future.

We get hungry and look for food. Then we get hungry again.

We get thirsty and look for water. Then we’re thirsty again.

We want to create art and learn how to sing. Then we want to create more and learn how to draw.

Full satisfaction with our life as it is is an illusion. Desire will always be there, even if we think we’ve reached all our goals.

Without a gap between what we do and what we want to do, what we have and what we want, who we are and who we want to be, life becomes meaningless.

With that knowledge, how can we still be fulfilled?

The fulfillment formula may help:

Regardless of outcomes and results, are the majority of your daily actions in alignment with your purpose, values, and the identity you want to forge?