the suffering

everything disintegrates.

everything made out of parts will eventually fall apart and seize to exist. most of our suffering relates to this... so its of upmost importance that we both understand, and also embrace this thought.

because nothing is permanent, we too are changing beings

correct me if i’m wrong, but i don’t know where i am

am i in my heart? or am i in my brain?

am i in my feelings? or my thoughts?

we have never located one true, real self we can pin point...the idea of a distinct, enduring soul is a matter of naive and cheerful philosophy, rather than empirical observation. yet, our deeply rooted and misguided sense of importance makes it devastating for us to think that we might not have any kind of soul...

just like a flower, a story, or a galaxy,

we are simply a collection of parts. different parts, no core.

its slippery because of our active laziness...we tend to cram our lives with compulsive activity, with the unconscious goal of leaving no time at all to confront the real issues that appear when we attempt to love both ourselves and our lives.

in fact, the more we focus our attention on outer things, the further we separate ourselves from our true, "inner potential", which, in my opinion, is what we tend to refer to as "god" or "soul"

its delicate

being here now is delicate because of our ego.

like a dictator, our ego offers us security at the expense of our freedom

still, just like dictators, our ego can be overthrown... while it can be a terrible master, its entirely possible to turn it into a beautiful servant

how?

"neither with servility nor arrogance. Neither by cringing nor by disdain. Neither with excuses nor through evasions." - Marcus Aurelius

it should be easy for us to understand that theres nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man, we should all know that true nobility is simply being superior to your former self.

however,

to defeat our ego, we need to develop both an understanding and a renunciation of our desires.

this can be done by practicing and paying respectful attention to our own self sufficiency, detachment, and perspectives.

being here now is eternal. its in coming and going, in following and guiding, in giving and recieving. still though, many people struggle with finding it... if you are one of them, heres my advice: stoy trying. try to avoid the "wanting"... place your struggle within the narrative, not the conclusion.


the path
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