The key ingredient to living the good life and how to implement it

CLIMBING THE WRONG MOUNTAIN, AKA PURSUIT OF SEAMING DESIRE

I've been sitting with this question lately: What are the basic elements of "the good life"?

The answer: It depends.

It's entirely up to you. You alone can answer what constitutes a life examined and no amount of looking to others for clues will result in clarity.

You can observe and deduce from observing others' basic principles to live life on their own accord, though, in pursuit of their own desires.

Now you might be thinking, AHA!

Desire is the culprit for my unhappiness.

Buddhism seems to confirm this notion, that you should strive to remove desire.

And those initiated amongst you will immediately recognize this as a double bind. A Zen Koan.

An impossibility.

How am I to remove desire without desiring to do so?

Before you know it, 10 years in contemplation of this conundrum have gone by tucked away in some remote monetary.

And you can finally move on because it dawned on you that you can't remove desire.

You can however remove obsession with the goal of your desire.

And enjoy the ride that gets you there.

Let's suppose you wanted peace of mind, clarity of thought, and emotion.

That's what made you quit your work, meet up with your friends and family, break it off with your lover and move to that remote monastery 10 years ago.

And you thoroughly enjoyed your vows of silence, bowls of plain rice and naan, and group chanting.

You were tired of the mundane existence, living the life that you've been told is the "collective" dream.

The trip from the maternity ward to the crematorium.

In fact, your idea of "true life" was more akin to becoming enlightened and sitting in silence on top of a mountain.

Detached from the trivialities of taking out the trash and paying your electricity bill.

In communion with the Spirit of the World, connected to the all-being, all-knowing, everything there is.

Awesome.

If that floats your boat.

But that doesn't mean your path needs to be this way, even if you have gone through the awakening experience, realizing that the collective game is a put-on.

You are under no obligation to follow any sage, guru, teacher, or saint.

You are holy and whole in your being, already the expression of the universe through this subjective lens, experiencing itself.

Your path is your own.

For me, it appears to be calling me towards pulling down spirit into matter.

Bridging of these apparently opposing qualities of being.

Taking the great myths of religion that would have us ascend into the metaverse, leaving behind the sinful and painful material realm altogether.

Can you see how this is complete and utter bullshit?

Going meta, escape velocity, leaving behind the toxic waste dump of planet Earth.

The silicon valley wet dream is nothing more than a facelift of this monotheistic myth.

An escape to heaven above.

A fall out of the Garden of Eden.

Well, let me blaspheme, therefore, and kill this sacred cow.

THE GOOD LIFE

Imagine two scenarios:

Scenario 1:

You hustle and hustle, discipline yourself and consistently push through your limitations.

The daily grind, blasting through obstacles and amassing escape velocity wealth.

Such that you are guaranteed a seat on the flight to Mars.

Together with Elon, Jeff, and the technocratic cream of the crop.

You cryogenically freeze your bodies to withstand the sands of time journeying to Alpha Centauri.

And mission success.

You arrive to the promised land.

Breaking new ground.

Just like Moses.

Just like the pioneers on Mayflower.

And then.

There you are.

Surrounded by the titans of industry and brilliant technological minds.

To start again.

Repeat the entire cycle.

Only, this time around, you left something behind, didn't you?

What now?

Scenario 2:

You live the life of a saint, sticking to the letter of the holy scripture.

In the perpetual sacrifice of earthly desires and delights.

Focused on the one true objective.

The redemption of the sinner.

Upon death, you start the ascend to the gates of Heaven above.

Greeting you at the door is saint Peter.

And he asks you:

"My Dear, how was your stay in paradise?

CLIMBING THE WRONG MOUNTAIN, AKA PURSUIT OF SEAMING DESIRE.

So what happens after decades of spending your life in pursuit of a desire that you later realize was not of your own making?

Do you make the typical gambler's mistake and keep betting on a losing game because of the stakes already lost?

Or do you acquaint yourself with the concept of sunk costs?

Leave the table.

Dare to descend from the mountain you were climbing, seeing clearly now that you actually wish to climb a different peak.

Pursue your desires.

With a single-minded focus on that which excites you most.

Guess what, if it turns out that wasn't it, you're one step closer to fulfilling your desire of higher order of magnitude.

Imagine not that this is a static goal towards which you're striving.

Rather, know that as long as you draw breath, you'll desire something.

And it's this desire or the long-term vision that you continue to enhance with HD clarity, that is leading you on this journey of life.

Enjoy the ride, take in the scenery, and meet the locals.