Question:
What if all the so-called “fucked up” aspects of your personality are indication NOT of a deficient character but of deficient SELF-UNDERSTANDING?
In other words… what if you’re wrong about yourself?
A few weeks ago, I caught myself brooding on something, as usual, and suddenly wondered “why am I so DISSATISFIED all the time? What’s my problem?”
But then, a moment later, another thought: “these goals I’ve set for myself… this life I’m working to build… what kind of man would I have to be to achieve them? NOT a contented, peaceful one. I would have to be driven and restless. Just as I am!”
And so, suddenly, my relationship to myself shifted:
I saw that, truly, I should rest in my restlessness… be content with my discontentment.
They were not my points of failure but my TOOLS OF TRADE.
And for yourself:
What if you treated your obsessions not as distracting oddities or shameful failings but as your CORE COMPASS?
Ask yourself “what do my core compulsions say about the path I should be walking… what strange adventures am I wired for?”
Don’t ask yourself to look and act and feel as others do.
Most men are slaves, so stop seeking their chains.
For it is not the cheerful who will split the sky.
It will be the restless, the insatiable, the stormily burning.
Don’t waste your time and heart “correcting” your angled darkness.
We need that which only you can discover.
We need your special madness.
When I first read how your soul dies I was dumb founded I trying to figure myself out I mentioned to friends and family I’m buying a motorcycle getting me another dog in the spring tour some of the country I’m dying inside I can feel it. Later the same thoughts assailed my mind no I can’t afford it to scary so I put that thought away till I read your article now I’m going I tell my wife and others all I got was why are you leaving or what about me it’s like they started feeding of me just sayin
i just rode my motorcycle from south carolina to washinton state, took a great paying job as a carpenter, stayed in pnw for 6 months touring most all of oregon and WA, then rode down the west coast to sandiego CA, then followed the border most of the way to austin TX, over to New orleans. pencicola , charleston. then home…. JUST DO IT i have never felt more alive…like a child opening my eyes for the first time….. you can spend a ton of money if you want, but it can certainly be done on a budget. i was riding a honda valktrie 1520cc f6 , so it was not a fuel efficient ride, most of my cost was fuel…there are infinite places to camp, for free, legally. JUST DO IT it will be the ride of a lifetime, my next trip is alaska ! just keep it on the road, doen’t matter where you go!
I can’t stop reading this, it’s a game changer. As you age you discover things that shift you and shape you, idea’s that take you around a corner for which there is no turning back. This is one of those paradigm shifting concept’s, thank you for uncovering this truth!
Excellent point. Unfortunately, to use your friends/family as the proverbial “yard stick”, is human mature, but honestly I’ve never been content with just sitting still, and here lately I’ve just realized, not only is the clock ticking, but look around you. These clowns around you, that possess all the material things that you’ve convinced yourself you need, are too busy trying to purchase the next latest and greatest to enjoy the first “thing” that’s sitting in the garage, losing value. lol. Who do we think’s going to carry the flame, when this facade is washing away in the rivers, gutters, & creeks. It’s not going to be the men who just took your word for it and let fear rule them…..it’s gunna be the dude that hit this mofo like a Caged Elephant or Black Key’s song!!!! I really enjoyed your page Brother, keep it up! Rarely do we understand something as simple as our words, delivered with conviction, positively, has a tendency to Inspire! The only thing an establishment fears. PLU
this made so much sense
a game changer
thankyou