I’m sick and tired.
(That’s the whole first sentence.)
I’m not sick and tired of anything, I’m just sick and tired.
I caught a cough my first week training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, (what with the massive exchange of bodily fluids,) but it held at bay.
It was surprising, just having a cough, without the attendant bother of a cold. (Stuffy/runny nose, body aches.)
Given the limited impact, I kept training.
And working.
Parenting.
Dog walking.
Pushing myself to the max, as always.
So Sunday, when it morphed into a full-blown cold, I wasn’t surprised.
No rest, no improvement.
Because the freelance life teaches you a valuable lesson, with respect to everyone’s experience here on Earth:
No one is coming to save you.
So you best save yourself.
Most people take that as a bad thing.
No White/Black/Brown/Red/Yellow/Blue knights are arriving shortly. They’re not currently steaming across the moors, on their fancy horses, intent on making your life better.
Yes, community is meant to support us.
But communities need to be built.
That takes strength, and energy, both of which get sapped, while people wait around for a savior who’s not coming.
Sounds bleak.
It’s not.
The idea that within each of us lies the capacity to improve his/her/their state in life, through internal work and personal growth, is a hard one to swallow.
This is not the Republican Party line of “Personal Responsibility.”
Those assholes use the term to deny some very, very obvious realities.
Such as, growing up in poverty, or in areas with shitty schools, has a massive impact on a person’s life trajectory.
Furthermore, every single American who has become “successful” has done so based upon the societal, governmental spending necessary to allow civilization to function.
No society, no Jeff Bezos.
It’s that simple.
Yet we’re living at a time when the bonds that hold society together are being tested as never before.
What’s the solution?
Be better.
I’ve written a bit about Taoism, here on Sunshine and Olly, but not much about Buddhism.
Obviously, both belief systems are interconnected, though the latter originated in India, before being exported to China. We’re talking about two societies, each more than 5000 years old, sharing some of the best wisdom they’ve been able to generate.
In this case, Buddhism posits that all things are connected. There is one big mass of Chi, or life force, that represents everything.
People. Dogs. Trees. Rocks. Water.
The more individual cells (which comprise the whole,) are damaged, the more the entire body suffers.
Between all the methods of self-care available to us these days, be it therapy, exercise, creativity, friendship, travel, what have you…
Once you know what you can do to be better, (through self-awareness,) invest in those things.
More art-making.
More exercise.
More nature walks. (Should you have access to nature.)
More friend chats.
Whatever it takes to improve.
We’re talking about a growth mindset.
And though I did not like him as a basketball player, it’s also what Kobe Bryant was on about, with his “Mamba Mentality.” Relentless improvement, because it’s the best way to fight complacency, and entropy.
It’s baked into things like Martial Arts, Golf, or cooking.
(Seriously.)
I’m laying here, sick and tired, but since I haven’t written since Friday, I knew I had to push through.
Express the emotions.
Share the thoughts.
So that’s where we’ll land today.
Life is insanely hard. But it’s also magically awesome, at times, and certainly, the only one we’ve got.
(Until proven otherwise.)
Hasta Mañana!
Sunshine and Olly 
Leave a comment