I’ve never felt this behind in my life, but I still think I’m living an easier life than billions of people, and that alone is enough to calm me down and fill me with gratitude..
That's such a great reminder Abdulrahman. I don't know if I'll ever grow out of feeling behind, but I may get better at accepting it and therefore letting it go. And I have to zoom out and remind myself how blessed I truly am.
As Neale Donald Walsch says, “The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”
I think that was one of the core ideas I wanted to get to. Life is hard and overwhelming at times, but it gets less hard with other people. We don't have to go alone.
Great essay Tommy, with many great insights. In these paragraphs I see an underlying theme of "Congruence", which is my favorite virtue. It's about being true to the world, and mostly to yourself, by practicing what you preach, while admitting your flaws in this complicated process of living.
There's also a lot of having the courage to change over time, like you very well mention Tim Ferriss and such as example, which is something I very much admire too.
Lots of more thought to ponder over, thank you for pointing me to read this!
Thanks so much for reading Oscar & leaving such a beautiful reflection. Amidst a stressful and busy workday this brought a smile to my face.
Congruence js so interesting. Never heard anyone use that term before. Reminded me of a Seneca letter I read once on the value of staying true to your word, meaning what you say.
I think the beauty is in the attempt. In recognizing I’ll always fall short of my ideal but continue to aim towards it nonetheless.
I agree - changing your mind is an act of courage and also a sign of growth. Emerson has that line on how consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Incredible writing as always Tommy. This is my favorite piece you’ve written as it hits so close to home.
“I write to capture an emotion: honesty.”
Beautifully put. I’ve been contemplating my own approach to writing. Writing about productivity hacks and ways to make money feel dissatisfying. 1) I don’t even practice any of those tips and 2) anyone else on the planet can put a list like that together. And there’s no shortage of them.
Similarly to you, I also have thought about writing as an emotion. For you it’s honesty, for me it’s bittersweet. Something about digging into your soul and extracting emotional truth that all humans share is far more powerful than acting like a guru grasping at shallow practicalities.
Thanks for reading and leaving such a thoughtful note, Landon.
I agree with you completely. It's surprising how easy it is to recommend things you don't even practice yourself.
The emotion theme was a conclusion I came to because I just couldn't find a common topical thread in my writing. But with that emotion in mind, it can serve as a bit of a litmus test. With each piece, asking "is this honest?" or "is this bittersweet"?
I also love the idea of the emotion being bittersweet -- I think life in its entirety is bittersweet.
I’ve never felt this behind in my life, but I still think I’m living an easier life than billions of people, and that alone is enough to calm me down and fill me with gratitude..
That's such a great reminder Abdulrahman. I don't know if I'll ever grow out of feeling behind, but I may get better at accepting it and therefore letting it go. And I have to zoom out and remind myself how blessed I truly am.
As Neale Donald Walsch says, “The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”
I wish you all the best :)
Truly, we can be behind, unsure and uncertain together. Thanks for the shoutout in your essay, too!
Thanks for all your help with this piece, Becky.
I think that was one of the core ideas I wanted to get to. Life is hard and overwhelming at times, but it gets less hard with other people. We don't have to go alone.
Great essay Tommy, with many great insights. In these paragraphs I see an underlying theme of "Congruence", which is my favorite virtue. It's about being true to the world, and mostly to yourself, by practicing what you preach, while admitting your flaws in this complicated process of living.
There's also a lot of having the courage to change over time, like you very well mention Tim Ferriss and such as example, which is something I very much admire too.
Lots of more thought to ponder over, thank you for pointing me to read this!
Thanks so much for reading Oscar & leaving such a beautiful reflection. Amidst a stressful and busy workday this brought a smile to my face.
Congruence js so interesting. Never heard anyone use that term before. Reminded me of a Seneca letter I read once on the value of staying true to your word, meaning what you say.
I think the beauty is in the attempt. In recognizing I’ll always fall short of my ideal but continue to aim towards it nonetheless.
I agree - changing your mind is an act of courage and also a sign of growth. Emerson has that line on how consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Thank you again & have a lovely weekend (:
Glad to have had that effect, Tommy.
I'll have to read that specific letter, but definitely something Seneca would say, and embody.
Completely agree that there's beauty in the attempt, and in the keeping of attempting.
Didn't know that Emerson line, amazing and spot-on.
Thanks again for pointing me to this essay, and likewise for you on the weekend!
“Beauty in the attempt” lovely way of putting it
Thanks Oscar (:
That was originally from you! Haha and agreed it is lovely 👌
Haha my bad 😆 one of my many flaws is being a little too in love with my thoughts (working on it)
😂😂 Oh no worries! I'm in the same camp. Besides, this was a worthy thought of being in love with ;)
Brilliant! I want to be able to write
Thank you for reading Sharon & the kind words (:
I'm sure you can write! No one is any good at anything just starting out
Incredible writing as always Tommy. This is my favorite piece you’ve written as it hits so close to home.
“I write to capture an emotion: honesty.”
Beautifully put. I’ve been contemplating my own approach to writing. Writing about productivity hacks and ways to make money feel dissatisfying. 1) I don’t even practice any of those tips and 2) anyone else on the planet can put a list like that together. And there’s no shortage of them.
Similarly to you, I also have thought about writing as an emotion. For you it’s honesty, for me it’s bittersweet. Something about digging into your soul and extracting emotional truth that all humans share is far more powerful than acting like a guru grasping at shallow practicalities.
I’d love to talk more about this when we meet.
Thanks for reading and leaving such a thoughtful note, Landon.
I agree with you completely. It's surprising how easy it is to recommend things you don't even practice yourself.
The emotion theme was a conclusion I came to because I just couldn't find a common topical thread in my writing. But with that emotion in mind, it can serve as a bit of a litmus test. With each piece, asking "is this honest?" or "is this bittersweet"?
I also love the idea of the emotion being bittersweet -- I think life in its entirety is bittersweet.
Excited to chat again soon :)