"Years ago, it had occurred to me that Darwin and Nietzsche agreed on one thing: the defining characteristic of the organism is striving."
This quote (from When Breath Becomes Air), has rung true in my mind for years.
But like many things, it's a paradox. I feel pulled to strive, but I also feel pulled not to strive.
On the surface, there's a visceral discomfort with striving—the pain of growth.
But it goes deeper.
Because striving implies I'm here and want to get there.
And if striving is my defining characteristic, the moment I reach there, it becomes here and I'll pick a new there.
So what's the move?
Sit alongside the treadmills, in my Planet Fitness massage chair, laughing at the brainwashed humans chasing an invisible carrot?
Or hop on and chase that carrot, knowing I'll never reach it?
Dropping the metaphor for a moment, I love treadmills. I listen to music, forget about my surroundings. It feels like I'm dancing—as in, it feels natural and energizing, though I can't quite explain why. Or maybe that is the metaphor.
New Conversation I Recorded
If a picture is like time travel for your sight, then listening to a past conversation is like time travel for you thoughts.
That's the idea behind me and Matt's podcast: Thoughts from Space Rock. We love having conversations, so we talk for 2 hours and record it.
We aimed to create a podcast that would be meaningful even with a smaller amount of listeners—and so far that's been the case.
I particularly enjoyed our most recent episode: 016: Therapy Sesh.
Quote I'm Pondering
"Compassion contains fundamental fearlessness, fearlessness without hesitation. This fearlessness is marked by tremendous generosity, in contrast to the fearlessness of exerting one’s power over others. This 'generous fearlessness' is the fundamental nature of compassion and transcends the animal instinct of ego."
– Chögyam Trungpa (in Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism)
Thanks for reading! Every week, I send an email with ponderings (like above), something new I'm into, and a quote. To follow along, subscribe below.