A lot of what makes up our day to day grind, when at looked at from a large scale view, can be very petty. The annoyances, troubles, and backaches we must contend with from day to day add up and bring us down. Or at least they can if we’re not careful. Working endless hours at a job, having unfulfilling relationships, and just having a general malaise over our lives can ruin our most valuable resource.
Our time.
This is not how anyone wants to live and yet it is how the majority of people live. Why is this? Why is it that most people live lives of “quiet desperation” at best. And if not quiet desperation than blazed out numbness, bitter anger, and overwhelming depression? Does that not describe the state of our modern world and with it, a good portion of our modern lives?
Is there ever a little doubt in the back of your head when you look around you that this is not the way that things are supposed to be? That we’re meant for something more? That existence is supposed to have…meaning?
If you’re reading this then you most likely think that way and are looking for something more. And while it would be ridiculous of me to say that I have the answer, at the same time I do want to provide you with what I think is a decent blueprint and understanding to get you started and maybe spark some ideas.
Let’s get into it.
We Are Not Living Natural Lives
We are living very artificial and unnatural lives and because of this, we suffer many problems from them. Just like if you tried to grow a flower in rubber soil. Yet we try to do the same things with humans and then scratch our heads when things don’t work out. For most of human existence humans lived in close knit tribes or communities.
From the hunter gather days to agricultural societies all the way up to industrial revolution. People would spend time with various family members and friends. Isolation was a strange thing reserved for those on the outskirts of society and was considered one of the worst things that could happen. And yet today we can go years without seeing extended family. We can be far away from immediate family, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and the like.
We can live our lives in little isolated cubes, which leads to insanity and yet is considered “normal” by modern standards. Then we eat food made in laps and treated with poisons. If you bed a cow grass laced with bleach and formaldehyde would that cow grow up to be healthy? Or would it die? Yet we do the same to ourselves.
But it doesn’t end there. Imagine a farmer worked a land all day and yet at the end he wasn’t able to feed a family or even get himself a home? Yet we work all day and can’t afford anything. And so on and so forth. We live one of the most unnatural existences man has ever lived and suffer for it.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The…Solution?
The best thing we can do is move closer to living in natural ways. Eating things that are good for us, getting the wind in our faces and the sunshine on our skin, socializing with others and having some form of community. Exercising and sleeping right. Taking time to smell the flowers and breath. All of that is great but it’s just the first step, we have to move even further along the path if we can.
One big thing is people are no longer connected with their myths. The stories that saturated their ancestors and led them to accomplish great things and dare great dares. It doesn’t matter if it’s Old Christianity or the myths and folklore of a people. Myth is powerful and myth can inspire greatness if understood properly. I recommend studying the myth of your people and coming to know them on a deep level.
Even as an adult you can still learn and draw inspiration from these stories, and do realize that stories are the most effective and efficient way for humans to learn. And if you have children or grandchild never underestimate the power of telling them stories. Look to modern myths and stories as well. Understand that fiction and stories, far from being frivolous, are fundamental to human existence and proper functioning.
And beyond that you need to look to something that’ll give you meaning in life. What are you grand goals and what do you want to accomplish above all else? I can guarantee that it’s not making money for someone richer than you, which is what most jobs are. And I can guarantee it’s not making sure that some Globo corporation makes good profits at the end of the year. Those things may be your jobs but they’re not what fires you up.
But what does? Humans need a passion and they need to be able to have time to fulfill and use that passion. Even if it’s only in bits of pieces. For example say you’re working 60 hours a week but your passion is dance, even if you can only make one class a week that’ll do so much for your basic humanity that it’s worth it.
Don’t let your dreams die, don’t let your passions die, they are a big part of what makes you human and what gives life its zest. You need something to look forward too and think about when submerged in the malaise and pettiness that most of us have to be submerged in for jobs or just general living.
And then look to find a way out of it. For some it’ll be reducing costs and homesteading somewhere remote, maybe with a longer commute. For others it may be working on that “side hustle” for a decade until it makes enough money to live off of, for others it’ll be relocating to a place where life is a little more sane.
And so on and so forth. It’ll be different for everybody but everybody has to find their way.
What To Do Now
So what to do with all of this? What to do now? A couple of things. First off look to the basics things like eating right, sleeping right, and getting some exercise. Nothing crazy, just some basic things can make a world of difference in your day to day life. Take a walk, meditate, drink more water, eat more protein and healthy fats, whatever. Just figure out the things that you can start changing and work on those.
Look at passions and big goals that motivate you. When you are laid in the ground how do you want people to remember you and what do you want to be remembered for? What do you want your legacy to be? Think on these things and then work at slowly but progressively changing your life.
One little piece at a time.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
