Another rainy swim yesterday. On the way to the beach I readied my mind for a cold walk across the wide Huntington sands, and a colder run and plunge into grey, tumbling waves. The idea thrilled! Though I was also naturally reluctant to go.
And then I saw a young woman jogging for exercise in the rain, wearing shorts and a thin running top, exposed, wet and smiling. She’d already made her plunge, outside and cold, into the dark rainy day. And look at that smile on her face! I thought, she’s arrived somewhere!
And then I saw two young boys playing with a soccer ball on an empty schoolyard; all wet, running and dashing with ear to ear smiles, making a memory together to last a lifetime, each of them already into, through and beyond their cold fear. They’d arrived someplace, too.
And finally, at the beach, huge waves crashing loudly way outside, I saw a lone surfer sitting on his board far beyond the breakers, bobbing alone as nighttime crept, waiting for the biggest set waves to arrive. He too came out into the cold and dark and wet today to live. And I’ll bet he was smiling too. For what else is there but joy in not simply deciding to come to life but in actually living? The surfer too had arrived.
It is our purpose in a way, to have experiences of the day, and to climb up through the hard stuff to the higher points of existence, to the places which might seem scary to go, which it would be easier to simply think about rather than step outside to see and try. And so when I reached the shore I threw off the towel from over my shoulders, tossed it down onto the wet sand, and started running towards the crashing, foaming, cold waves. And my genuine smile arrived then too, for what else could there be at such a time? My resolve had overcome my reluctance and fear after all, and I was going, and I was running, and I was truly alive—and arrived.
The Good Life Meditation is my daily recitation and reminder of personal objectives and principles used in pursuit of a purposeful life in spite of a universe of seeming indifference. Learn more about The Good Life at my website GoingAlone.org or by reading my book Going Alone. And visit our Discord at: https://lnkd.in/gFgfGmY6
OBJECTIVES: 1. Be Always Ready to Die 2. Make Good Use of Time and Resources 3. Develop Good and Sound Life Principles 4. Cultivate Good Emotional Reactions 5. Perform Good Actions 6. Recognize True Limits and Opportunity 7. One Thing Slowly
PRINCIPLES: 1. Principle of War 2. Principle of Reason 3. Homunculus 4. Anchorhold 5. Home of Good and Evil 6. Principle of Purpose 7. Atomic Principle 8. Principle of Nature 9. The Pirate Ride 10. Principle of Maturity 11. Social Principle 12. Public Speaking 13. Temperance 14. Life Will Not Go Well 15. The Horror Show 16. That Which Must Be Borne 17. The Feast of Offal 18. Distraction 19. Agency and The Great Indifference 20. The Best Seat in the House 21. The Restless Man 22. The Path of Wildness 23. The Great Life Adventure 24. The Risk of Avoiding Risk 25. Sin and Damnation 26. Complete Oblivion 27. The Season of Philosophy 28. Bullseye Aim 29. The Uphill Climb 30. Arena and Utility 31. Nothing IS enough 32. The Principle of Fun
My name is Kurt Bell.
You can learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone.
Be safe... But not too safe.
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