Gaijinass

How to make your life Significant

I am still a relatively young guy at 31 years old.
My life thus far has been pretty colorful to say the least and I have been around and saw a thing or two that might stupefy or amaze. I have had highs and lows usually on extreme ends of the spectrum, and my time has generally been categorized by everything going really well or everything being completely FUBAR.
One lesson that I have learned though that has grown in stature and importance almost with every waking day I get to enjoy and be alive is, and alot of people will not be thrilled to hear this but,  Life is not about always being Happy. Nope, sorry….trying to be happy all the time is over rated and I honestly think it’s a recipe for disaster.

1st World Cry Babies
WE in developed nations, RICH nations are a group of sniveling little Cry Babies. Everything we have and the opportunities afforded to us are so amazing and so unimaginable in other parts of the world that we often simply cannot mentally comprehend the gap that exists. Our power to HAVE, have food, have shelter, have education, have cars, have TVs, have game systems have designer sneakers and wallets and bags and Iphones and health club memberships and so on and so forth is so immense its beyond comprehension and here in lies problem number 1: WE HAVE TOO MUCH

Not only is it WHAT we have but our potential too have that plagues us. Remember for example back when Atari came out (I told you I am 31)? Everyone was pumped beyond belief because hey, THAT was it. There was just Atari or Pac Man at the mall, and there were no other choices and Atari was just fine…hell so was Pac Man. Today that equation is laughable with the array of Game systems, PC games and whatever else has wires (or doesn’t) and interfaces with some sort of visual system for us to stare at and be hypnotized by. It’s the sheer amount of choices that is crushing us.
The Novelist and existentialist philosopher Albert Camus posed the question “Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee?” His point was that every moment of everyday that we are alive we are making choices. There is no such thing as “There is no choice.” This in reality does not exist because you always have a choice.
I am not talking about the little things you do to well, survive because alot of these don’t count as choices, not real ones. You get up, you go to the toilet….you brush your teeth etc. Sure, technically choices but not the type I am referring too.
I am talking about our absurd hyper obsessive consumer society in which you go to buy cereal and you are faced with literally 50 different types of breakfast cereal to choose from. Everything is about what is NEWER and BIGGER and COOLER and FASTER and SMARTER and SEXIER. More more more. The choices we are faced with are like weights around our necks…as Barry Schwartz said in his book “THE PARADOX OF CHOICE”

….With limitless choice we produce better results with our decisions than we would in a more limited world but we feel worse about them However, the stakes involved are considerably higher than just creating mild disappointment. Unlimited choice I believe, can produce genuine suffering. When the results of decisions- about trivial things or important ones about items of consumption or about jobs and relationships are disappointing we ask why. And when we ask why the answers we come up with frequently have us blaming ourselves.

What this is all about is simple; Less is often more. This brings us to our first point in having a significant life.

LESS IS OFTEN MORE
You do not need multiple gaming systems.
You do not need to go to Disney land 6 times a year.
You do not need another new designer bag.
You do not need to bleach your teeth and be perfectly Tan.
You do not need a job at which you are treated like a slave or a whore.

To close this point remember Fight club

The things you own end up owning you.

Read on to find out what you DO need….

PURPOSE
In a world and society that is totally obsessed with “Being Happy” and having “Romance” it is no wonder everyone feels like shit.
If you spend your life trying to be happy, like the people we see constantly on TV and in films, you will lose. Searching for some sort of utopia style equation for Happiness is like searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: It isn’t there.
Instead of preaching Happiness and Love and all kinds of other non-sense to everyone perhaps someone should try mentioning the word PURPOSE. I define PURPOSE as your goal, your reason for being and it should be the thing that defines you as a Human being. RIGHT NOW, get a piece of paper out or open a word perfect Document and answer the following Question:

WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?

Now just start writing. One sentence at a time.
Just keep going. Even when you think you have found it….keep writing and writing until you get a purpose thate truly and honestly resonates within yourself even something that makes you feel like crying. Just push as hard as you can. This might take a while. But keep going untill you find something really heavy that makes you put down your pin or stop typing and take some deep breaths.

I filled up a page before I got to this.

“My purpose is to leave people with something positive that wasn’t there before they knew me, to push myself and to allow no confining limitations, physical,mental or emotional, to hold me hostage, to provide for those that come after me and to try above all else to be honest with myself and give something back.”

This is what made me stop and think deeply and it was a combination of several different sentences and had to be written several times. But this resonates with me on a deep level. You have to take this time and do this….
Once you have your purpose, you can read on.

The Next two go hand in hand.

First is Self Expression.
At first glance this might seem like it means communication with someone and although that is real and necessary what I mean here is the Self Expression of your Purpose and hence you through actions that DIRECTLY lead you on the path defined by the purpose you found. For example if your Purpose is to “Lead a healthy life both mentally and physically…” Yet you are woffing down quarter pounders and shooting up smack whilst you rewind to your favorite part in the porno you stole well….I do not think you are on the right path.
EXPRESS yourself though actions that clearly demonstrate your life purpose, even if those actions are difficult or sometimes painful…You cannot have pleasure without pain or light without dark. Your sacrifice now will make your life that much more significant later. Driving yourself in this way will also further clarify your purpose to you.

Meet other people and through your actions and lifestyle let them feel how purposeful and driven you are. Let them bask and bath in your life energy and share in the energy you can get from other like minded and positive people. It has nothing to do with using people. It is about an exchange of helpful and warm connections that not only benefit both parties but will actually CRYSTALLIZE your knowledge of self and purpose at a level far beyond anything you could achieve alone. When you encounter someone that’s lost, help them find their way and pass on what you have learned. Teaching is a form of study.

Although alot of these concepts are abstract and might seem difficult to some… to me, more and more each day, it becomes clear that these are rules to live by.

• Less is more.  If you dont NEED it, try and let it go. One thing at a time, step by step and watch as you simplify the weights around your neck will fall away.
• Find your purpose and do it honestly. Not what society and TV have conditioned you to “want” but what you really FEEL. write it DOWN and Remember it. THAT is what should define you and your life choices.
• Live Purposefully.  Take action that corresponds to What now defines your life and you as a person.
• Connect honestly and fully with others.  Find Brotherhood and Find Fellowship and you will find a peace that a Gucci wallet and bleached teeth simply cannot provide.