Word for Word Story...
Imagine that you are aware in a bad relationship. And maybe you weren't that happy about it. But you know, it was better than no relationship at all. And then the person that you are in a relationship betrayed you. And maybe they did that, because you actually weren't that happy with the relationship anyways, maybe they did that because you're a little bit naive. Or maybe they did that because you were a little bit too easy to get along with. And as a consequence, a little bit on the boring side. And so when they first leave you, it's a catastrophe, because your world falls apart. But when your world falls apart, you're somewhere new, as possible to learn something new in that place.
Lessons you may learn [deduce] from example...
So you might learn, for example, that you should be a little sharper the next time that you go out with someone, or you should be a little bit more careful about picking up on clues that your partner's bored with you, or that maybe you should stop associating with lying psychopaths and your life would be a lot more positive. And stop thinking that you have the capacity to redeem somebody that is not after redemption in the least.
Coming Out on the other side of a situation transformed...
What that means now in that is that when you fall into the belly of a whale, and you're swallowed up by something that lurks underneath, that you can come out the other side transformed.
Every time you learn something, you learn because something you did, didn't work.
And that exposes you to the part of the world that you don't understand.
Every time you're exposed to a part of the world that you don't understand you have the possibility of rebuilding the structures that you use to interpret the world.
That's often why it's more important to notice that you're wrong than it is to prove that you're right.
It might be useful to listen to people that annoy you on the off chance that they know something that if they tell you you can use instead of dying. Talking to people who agree with what you say is like walking around in a desert. You already know everything that they say, the reason you're associating with them in that situation is so that they never say anything that challenges you...
Action: If you watch yourself for a week, you'll see certain things...
You'll see some of the time that you're resentful and annoyed.
And those are the times when you're either taking advantage of yourself or you're thinking improperly.
Some of the time you'll be bored...
In which case you're either undisciplined or you're probably pursuing something you don't want to pursue.
And some of the time you'll actually be engaged in life.
And the times that you're engaged in life, you won't notice that you're there...
The distinction between subject and object disappears when you're engaged in something that you find meaningful. [Flow]
The purpose of life, as far as I can tell, from studying mythology, from studying psychology for decades, is to find a mode of being that's so meaningful that the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant, or maybe that it's even acceptable.
People know when they're doing that, in part, because you're no longer resentful. You say, "geez, I could do this forever."
"There's a timelessness, timelessness that's associated with that state of being from a mythological perspective, that's equivalent to brief habitation of the kingdom of God. That's the place where you are that's so meaningful, that it enables you to bear the harsh preconditions of life without becoming resentful, bitter or cruel. And there's nothing that you can pursue in your life that will be half as useful as that."
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, and have your adventure.
Get the hell out there, do something, fail. Fail, while you're trying, then you'll learn why you failed, then you won't have to fail again.
Aim at something and progress towards it. Be willing to change your aim because what the hell do you know... but aim at something. Then at least you're oriented and you have to aim at something you believe would be worth [pursuing].