Maybe you think no, life isn’t that hard,
it’s like not only is it that hard, it’s
even harder than you think. So you’re going
to be tested, that’s for sure. And if you
have a sustaining meaning then there’s there’s,
well Nietzsche said himself “He who has
a why can bear any how.” Why would you look
in the darkest places? Because in the darkest
places you can find what still shines. If
it can shine the darkest places then you know
it’s a real light. And so you look at things
you don’t wanna look at. You have to look
at the things you don’t wanna look at. Well
why do meaningful things? Well, first of all,
what is meaning? But then why do meaningful
things? And the answer is well because life
is suffering and malevolence. It’s ineradicable
at its core. It’s like that will take you
out. Make no mistake about it. You need something
to, you need to be armed with virtue in order
to, for that not to turn into. Really. You
really need that. And it isn’t just your.
That’s bad enough and that can be really
bad. Especially when you’re contributing
to it. Right? Because then not only are you
suffering but you know you’re the agent
that’s producing the suffering. And then
maybe that’s not just for you, it’s like
you’re taking it out on your family, if
you’re really good at it you’re taking
out large swaths of your community, that’s.
It’s like that’s real and no one with
any sense and any experience has any doubt
that that’s real. And then they could’ve
easily think of how even though it’s already
bad, you could make it way worse. Everyone
knows that. So what’s the bulwark against
that? Nobility of purpose. That’s it. You
have that, then you have something to set
against the suffering and the malevolence.
And you need, it isn’t optional. That’s
not optional. You cannot live without it.
Meaning is not optional, right? Well that’s
why it’s such a deep instinct. It’s an
instinct - meaning. It’s the instinct of
life. “My life is meaningless” is the
spirit has gone out of you. And you know modern
people it’s part of this process of criticism.
We criticise the idea of meaning so much that
we don’t really believe in it anymore. It’s
like well that’s fine, you can not believe
it but try living without it, see how far
you get with that. You need a reason to get
out of bed on a terrible day. Okay what’s
that reason gonna be? Well, let’s think
it through. You know people who can get out
of bed on a terrible day. Do you admire them?
Yes. What are those people like? Are they
taking responsibility for themselves? Definitely.
Do they have excess capacity so they’re
taking responsibility for other people? Yeah.
Are they doing difficult things? Yes. Obviously,
the more you respect them, the more you also
see that they’re doing difficult things
and doing them well. So what does that mean?
Do some difficult things. Do them well. So
pick up your goddamn burden and walk up the
hill. Yup, I get it. And people do get it.
And it’s not surprising because that’s
the alternative to. It’s like accept the
burdensome condition of suffering, voluntarily,
and you’re transcended. It’s like you’ve
got a problem with the world? Hey man, no
wonder you have a problem with the world.
Like the world is a pretty rough place and
it could use some work. It’s like have you
done all your work? If the answer to that
is no then I would say put in order what you
can put in order. It’s like well you have
a problem, okay. What’s the problem? What
are its constituent elements? What are the
smallest implementable steps that we can take
to start to address the problem? Implement
the best plan that you have at hand. That’s
it. You’ll learn. It won’t be the right
plan. Doesn’t matter you’ll learn, implementing
that plan and you’ll learn a whole bunch
and then the next plan you make will be better.
Implement the best plan you have at hand.
Don’t remain in stasis. You get old way
way faster than you think. Time ticks away
man. Get at it. Get out there in the world.
Have your adventure. Get the out there. Do
something. Fail. Fail while you’re trying.
Then you’ll learn while you fail, then won’t
have to fail again. It’s like aim at something
and progress towards it. And you know be willing
to change your aim because what the do you
know? But aim at something, and then at least
you’re oriented. And you have to aim at
something that you believe would be worth
trying. So yeah, get at it man, don’t waste
time.
