What really matters (in a non-pessimist, non-depressing manner, of course)?
Does a healthy diet matter? Does an unhealthy diet matter? Do calories matter? Does an exercise routine matter? Does being the best matter? Does being the smartest matter? Does being good-looking matter? Does being ugly matter? Does having a job matter? Does winning matter? Does losing matter? Do actions matter? Does the past matter? Does the future matter? Do definitions matter? Do comparisons matter? Do experiences matter? Do opinions matter?
I have to say that a lot of the bullshit we put ourselves through, good bullshit included, means nada, zip, zilch, absolutely nothing. And by bullshit, I simply mean thinking, thoughts, brain thingamajigs.
Our thoughts can easily predict our lives – how we perceive, believe, act, and react to our experiences/personal realities – if we let them. Who controls your thoughts? Y-o-u, you! What can influence your thoughts? Absolutely everything! Who’s gonna win today? We are! Beliefs, perceptions, expectations, assumptions, conditionings, religion, faith, family, friends, diet, hydration, digestion, sleep, physical exertion, physical environment, or that bird outside the window at 5am when you’re just trying to get some f-ing sleep, man! can all influence our thoughts, BUT you ultimately determine how you are affected by those influences and, thus, by your idea of what really matters. This shouldn’t be a new concept to anyone – it’s more of a nudge that says, “Wake up and smell the tunafish, kid.”
Don’t be a puppet. Don’t let your thoughts control you. Don’t write off your thoughts thinking that they’re real when you literally make them up. When we are a puppet of our thoughts by yielding an absolute zero awareness of how we think, why we think, where our thoughts come from, and of all the influential factors being throw at us on a daily basis, we can experience a (possibly never-ending) blindness to what really matters (and also some insight into who we truly are/what we’re all about). Seeing isn’t believing, my franz. Thinking is. You can conjure up anything of your choosing within that imagination of yours and then have it manifest in various ways, i.e. turning the non-physical into physical. I literally sat in my bed the other night and imagined a situation of “What would I do if I encountered a purse-snatcher while on a date.” I thought about the various scenarios where I ran after the thief and the possible outcomes, in my favor and not. With each passing scene, I managed to increase my heart rate more and more, and thus, I increased my blood pressure and my stress hormone response (adrenaline or cortisol) in correlation with my mentality. Shit was nuts, but, more importantly, it was a great perspective experiment into what is [not] actually real.
Diving a little further into this shindig, to hold anything in a state of importance (expectation, attachment, or perceived necessity) may rock the life-boat a bit in the sense that this alleged importance could also bring along a state of unease. Because what happens to that boat when we lose something important or are prevented from its access or even consider the thought of losing said importance? That boat will be swimmin’ with the fishes in no time. I am not saying that nothing in life should be important (or a priority), but what I am suggesting is that maybe some (by some I probably mean most) things aren’t so important after-all. The external foundations, ones outside of ourselves in which we rely upon, believe that we need, or reach outwardly to in times of confusion, are the main factors in this case. Externals will never be able to fill or replace your own two metaphorical feet.
Ok, enough jibber jabber. Let’s have some incorporating-perspectives-practice time: Write down a list of however many things you consider to be important, things that matter to you.
[10-minute recess...]
Chances are the volunteered participants of this great experiment will have an equal amount of similarities as they do differences. Self-love, trust, confidence, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, faith, family, or friends are some of my optimistic predictions for similarities while electronics, clothing, transportation and things-of-the-materialistic-like are my god-help-us-all predictions for differences.
Now, what you have written down (or contemplated)… do they really matter?
Although I am still in the process of learning their (hint: my) value and place, I like to think that I have a pretty good idea of what matters to me at this point in my life. After going through my-reality-of the ringer and being forced to step back to look at my life as a much bigger picture, I am certain that all of the bullshit I once considered to be important does not really matter like I had once thought.
I will leave you all with this… a thought that should raise some eyebrows in regard to my main point of this week’s jibberish: When you leave this miracle, this world, this physical existence… what can you bring with you?
If you’d like to discuss these perspective along with other health-related insights, please contact me for a FREE Conversation.
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