Current working theories: a body in motion tends to stay in motion; a mind in motion tends to stay in motion; we write our stories.
The first two are obviously “borrowed” from Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Inertia. First conceived in 1687. It is put in high school and college textbooks. Though, not given the proper time, focus or respect. It is not put into practical practice. Real-world application lost to memorization for a test.
It is daily motion. Keeping the body moving. Keeping the mind thinking. It abhors stagnation. There is no earth-shattering moment of completion, understanding, or blissful cognitive enlightenment.
There is a hiccup from learning about the Stoics. “About living the good life. How we are dying the moment we are born. That it all could end today.” So, why be good? What is the point of struggling until the end? Pushing against a system that seems hell bent on destroying itself. “Live fast, die young, have a beautiful corpse,” James Dean.
If you are being honest, doesn’t our time on earth seem pointless? I do not believe in any type of god thing. There is no fooling me into trying to make this all have purpose beyond the randomness that created it. (Not where this is going, just mentioning.)
The mind and body in motion. Too far past the point of live fast, die young. Live mediocre, die middle aged. Does not have the umph.
For better or worse we have evolved too this moment. Some spend time analyzing where we are, how we got here, what is our point, what is the point? Others sit on the couch eating junk, consuming literally and figuratively, what others have created until death. Ultimately, are they both not the same?
Why keep going? Why keep doing this? Why keep the mind and body in motion?
We create our story daily whole cloth. Writing our lives moment by moment. We are our own fictional characters. We write ourselves as heroes, or victims. We write ourselves as learning, or growing, or dying, or consuming, or building, or breaking.
We forget that, or lose it, or never learn it. We do not understand it. Not on those terms. A boss once told me all had hired were firefighters. There were no “managers”. What he meant was with “mangers” his place would run smoothly. The restaurant would flow, and his mangers would manage. Instead, they were running around making food, dealing with a customer issues, and helping staff (if you read that and thought “that’s managing” there are a few book recommendations for you).
We have become the firefighters of our lives. The story we write is one of no control. We wake up at “x” time to get to work by “y” time. We exercise “x” times a week, to make up for a bad relationship with food, or trying to impress *blank*. We firefight for other people’s story.
We should not be firefighting our lives. We author it. If my house is burning, I can watch it burn, or put water on it. We do not have to do “x” on someone else’s terms. We are on autopilot going to work, dealing with a boss, and… and… and… pause. Repeat.
The purpose of this blog is to change my story. My mind. My body. In motion. Years ago, putting fingers to keys, was under duress. A bad situation and I did not know how to get out. When the writing restarted (nearly) daily, it was not from fear. It was for story. Taking the “yeah… but”, replacing it with better words. The story was no longer why it could not or would not be. It was.
No grand moment. Sitting and typing. Then, more sitting and typing. Same with reading. And taking notes. And, and, and…
The page was blank for too long. Someone else was dictating my life. No, that is not right, or fair. I allowed myself to be a character in their story. I wrote myself as the hapless victim. You never know what the right choice is. It seems good in the moment, or bad, you never really know. All just moments. Moments making up moments. Until out of moments.
So, why do this? Why be good? Why read the Stoics to try and be better? Simple. It feels good. It feels good to write. Fingers and mind moving forward. Evolution does not happen without a starting point. Your own personal big bang.
After putting my daugther to bed, it was time to write. Tomorrow? Wake up before her to write. This was not the norm a year ago. My mental energy was exhausted. There was no writing past fear and hurt.
Evolution. Progression.
This all leads to… writing about Adam Grant’s book based on a couple of notes. That did not seem fair to the book, me, or you. So many thoughts came from the book that will not be discussed (though influencing me daily).
Going forward, instead of waiting to write about a new book, the books will be written about in this blog (nearly, hopefully) daily. Just like The Daily Stoic “New Year New You” Challenge recorded at the beginning of the year for A Better Father podcast.
The story is changing, evolving. Mind and body in motion. You choose the story you write.
My focus question: What do I want to tell my daughter I did with my time when she was not here?
Posted. Not Perfect.
A Vegan Father, navigating a non-vegan world.
This writing is inspired from a new book for an online book club. Six weeks and counting.
A Better Father 