318. embrace adventure
Many people are unhappy with their circumstances, but fail to take the initiative to change their situation. Conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, they mistake safety with solace, all the while forgetting that at the very core of our being is a call for adventure. It’s the thrill of discovery that led humanity to explore and conquer the world over. That spirit is still alive within us. It’s a reason behind why we cheat on our partners or make uncharacteristic purchases — anything that will break the monotony and allow us to experience the new. We’re simply looking for an escape from the rerun that has become our lives.
We’ve forgotten that the human spirit thrives on adventure. Our joy in life comes from encountering new experiences, not reliving the same yesterday over and over. Somewhere along the line we traded adventure for safety without realizing that feeling alive requires a threat of the unknown. This doesn’t mean we need to sell all our possessions and travel the world until our funds run out, but it does mean that sometimes we need to ease the grasp on our routines. Change the route you take home. Change the order you normally complete tasks. Change the way you approach life. Embrace change. Embrace new experiences. Embrace adventure. And never forget that genuine happiness will come from discovering new horizons.
283. two journey’s
We take two journey’s.
The first is the Hero’s Journey, popularized by Joseph Campbell. It takes us from believing that we are what our parents or society told us to be, to shedding those ideals, and going through the process of uncovering who we truly are, where we eventually take on a new identity.
The second, is that of the Artist’s Journey. It’s what Steven Pressfield refers to as “bringing our gift to the world.” It’s the act of living our purpose. It’s the special thing we uncovered in the process of completing the Hero’s Journey that inspires us to show up in the world, and is what provides for the Artist’s Journey to take place. For example, if we find that expressing ourselves through the medium of writing is what allows us to be the person we want to be, then writing is what we need to do. The Artist’s Journey is about showing up in the world and using that special thing that motivates you to be creative or productive.
Think of it like this… the first half of our lives we are creating a vessel to be filled, and in the second — after we know what it takes to live with purpose and find fulfillment in our actions — we fill the vessel.
Both journey’s are of equal challenge and importance, but the sooner we can build our vessel, the sooner we can live with purpose.
192. help others…
We’re all here for various reasons, but one of those is to help others know themselves, to help them feel. To be a spark in their darkness. To be a key in unlocking a part that lay suppressed, or unrecognized. We’re here to take their hand and help them uncover their capabilities, and possibly discover a new way to look at the world.
It isn’t a lack of capacity that keeps us from being able to unlock certain emotions within ourselves, but more to the fact that we don’t know our true potential, until we can be shown. We all possess the capacity to feel, love, and express our emotions, yet many of us fail to do so because we are unable to get out of our own way. We stay locked into a certain way of communicating and relating to others because we cannot see the world beyond the limitations of our perspective. It’s all we know. Not until someone comes along with enough influence, finding a way inside our mind, can we begin to see things differently.
So, the people that enter our lives are there for a reason, if for nothing else other than to provide a new perspective. They help us to see the world a little differently, and if we’re lucky will completely turn our world upside down.