Take it in.
Everything that you can experience right now.
Take it in as you breath it in, taste it in every facet of the experience.
Experience is often like turning a Rubix cube in your hand and feeling, but not seeing, the opposite side. The ridges, the bumps of old stick glue, the texture of the cheap plastic bending under the weight of your press.
Its in this moment that a radical appreciation can open up, and I often use this mantra to remind me of it:
I’m already dead, so I’m glad I’m alive!
Its a spin off the radical gratitude practice by the Stoics, in that the more you accept your mortality the more you appreciate and enjoy life.
Really feel into this mantra, let it wash over your perception of life:
Imagine you’re currently dead and what you’re experiencing right now is a miracle, a flashback, a second chance at life right now! That any experience is possible, whether its root is in pain or pleasure, is a miracle!
Adventure in action: Walking across an island
For the past week (but what has really has felt like a year or more), I’ve been walking across one of the Azores islands in Portugal.
Just yesterday I walked ~30-35km (~18-20 miles) and ~20-25km (12-15 miles) today, all the while carrying about 30kg (~66lbs) of gear.
I encountered a block earlier today when I was so close to reaching my next campsite. I doubted myself, others, the purpose of what I was doing.
Everything was up in the air.
But I kept going, speaking the mantra: “Keep going, keep going…” and “Just keep moving, just keep moving…”
I kept to the system I started yesterday: walk for 30 minutes then take a 5 minute break, repeat until destination is reached.
Throughout this journey so far I have tasted the depths of a hellish mask of humanity, both in myself and others.
The seemingly callous weather, raining on me without a care for how I feel, didn’t make my journey any easier so far. Not only heavy weight and long distances were my obstacles, but whipping rain and frigid winds also stood in my path. The nights were so cold in some places that I had to wrap myself in an emergency blanket over my sleeping bag (inside my tent).
But once I reached my destination today I realized the magic miracle of it all once again: that the beautiful harmony of existence and life is only possible with these trials, with the anxiety, fear, doubt, and negative aspects of life.
Dark cannot exist without Light, Light cannot exist without Dark.
Thank you God
Its in this context that gratitude to God, Source, Dao overflows.
Even the darkest experiences become a source for gratitude.
And maybe in the moment the terror, the anxiety, the fear is too much — but after the experience has passed it ages like a fine wine or cheese, and in that twilight afterwards a jubilant meal is enjoyed.
Why do we run away from the dragons of our lives?
When these very trials, dark caves, terrors of the deep hold the very meaning of life itself?
It doesn’t have to take any particular shape or form, but whatever it is — to struggle and struggle for the Great Work or Highest Vision, shows just how deep experience can get.
Keep it real and keep on Being your Highest Self.
The journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step ;)
Thank you God 🙏
♥️🙏🏻
Thank you Trevor