Personal Meditation No. 59

“Stop worrying about your neighbor. Their success or failure doesn’t influence yours. Start worrying about you.”

Embrace the Within.

Life isn’t a zero-sum game. Let me explain? Most of us were brought up around competitive sports where there exists a definite winner and many losers. We take a lot of the lessons we’re taught in this zero-sum environment and then apply those lessons to the world where no one person wins. In life, I am not in competition with you most of the time. I am not fighting you for my land. I am not fighting you for food. I am not fighting you for anything because our society is no longer set up for just one winner.

This isn’t a feral situation of the jungle for most of us on a daily basis. About the closest we get to these situations is when the media announces a shortage of something like gas earlier this year or toilet paper at the initial lock downs fourteen days ago.

Regardless, the error of our lives is taking those zero-sum rules and applying them to a situation that isn’t zero-sum. One of the great things about capitalism is that you can get rich by helping other people get what they want. You provide a good or service that other people want and they pay you for it. Both sides win. Both sides get what they want.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were screwed over by a negotiation? Have you ever felt like you got the raw end of the deal? You don’t deal with that party anymore. You go out of your way to tell other people and warn them about the shady business practices. You don’t want other people to lose like you did.

Life isn’t always about winning. Sometimes it is about helping other people to not fail. Parents, teachers, mentors, gurus, should be guiding folks away from failing. This is out of a love for the future. A love of your neighbor. A love of your self.

But, as I have said before, most folks find this difficult. They have a difficult time loving their neighbor because, ultimately, they aren’t in love with their own self. We see people acting horribly to one another because they aren’t happy with who they are, where they are, what they are. They want people to be down in the shit with them rather than elevating everyone out of the shit. Misery surely wants to have the most company it can drag down to its rut.

So, how about we start loving our body, our mind, our life? Amor fati. Love your fate? Love your destiny? Love your situation? And if you’re not in a situation today where you love what is going on in your life, then how about making a change? An introductory fix would be to start eating healthy. Start eating foods you can identify in nature and work from there?

Your health is the most important thing you have. Take the time to work on you.

I hope you find whatever you’re looking for. Have the day you want.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain