For some of us there is no greater fear than ourselves
A quality life for me
You can fear airplanes. You can fear snakes. But in the end, these fears are only our own selves trying to steer us backwards. We are monsters. Don’t ever believe otherwise. We reap what we sow and as humans what puts us in fear is only that which we do not understand. When it comes to fear and living what one would deem a quality life…the two come hand in hand in a way.
People fear change. People fear uncomfortably. People have a tendency to desire and desire but never to resist an urge, or put aside a want. I recently went for a stroll in the Oregon Japanese Garden and found a book called Wa-Sabi. I bought it for the name originally but once I read the book in about two hours I realized that life and the Wa-Sabi teaching is one practice that will breed forth a quality life along with tackling your fears.
“Wabi and Sabi a pair of Japanese words that have come to define the best aspects of one of the world’s most fascinating cultures.”
Culturally we are bred to run from our fears like sheep in a flock. Hence, television brainwashing, and the fact that the news on average only covers bad things that happen which make us fear leaving our children outside. But with Wa-Sabi we can learn the “The essence of tranquility” and continue to strive for a quality of life that goes beyond ourselves.
A fascinating part about our fears is that they condemn us worse than jail ever could. Jail is a confined place full of people and our fears…our fears are locked inside our head and constricted to our beliefs. Its like we have our own personal enemy within our head. For example I despise snakes but I understand their reason for existence thanks to my boyfriend. If it wasn’t for him I would dart the other way from a slithering creature in an instant. But as I live with him I am learning that this fear is very irrational. Accepting a fear is key.
If we are ruled by our fears we first need to know what that fear is. You can’t face a fear unarmed or unaware. Both tactics will only harm your own psyche. Just as we can’t dictate how each action will ultimately either change or dictate our life. This is why I follow the Wa-Sabi teaching. Due to the impracticability of how easy it is to come upon everything in this world from knowledge, pleasure, and access to the world we become scared with the flick of our little wrist. ( Kind of like how Thanos — oh- Spoiler sorry.)
Its as if as we grow older there is more to be scared of including our own hearts with more escapes to turn to. With an ever growing society of wants it becomes harder and tougher to remain tranquil in our life. Thus, there are multiple ideas of what a quality life should be and most of them come down to what’s in your pocket and how many chicks you bag rather than what’s in your heart or what you spend time doing.
“The World is fleeting; all things pass away; Or is it we that pass and they that stay?” Lucian
Things are the key to momentary happiness from Porn, material goods, and spending our time to get a secondary second of bliss we bury the meaning of why we are here. If you want quality you need to first rid yourself of anything that wastes a second from your pure happiness.
Take walks with nature, pay for a stranger’s meal, and treat others as you would like to be treated. I believe quality over quantity is how I live. Do I need a ton of video games or just a few good ones that I can play over and over again? Do I need a new computer or is helping a friend or family member more important. Our morals and values help shape what each of us finds to be a quality life but quality is certainty not found in any monetary value.
“Better a human with a flaw than a pebble without.” — Confucius
I could hound you with multiple ways to build such a life I.E minimalism, or by reading but in reality a quality life is different for everyone. Due to this we have a lot of articles that will tell you what to do but won’t tell you that its defined by you.
My quality of life is not the same as others and that is perfectly ok by me.
“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who has too much that is poor.” — Seneca
“Though I am in Kyoto , I long for Kyoto- Song of the Night bird.”
“Fewer and fewer Americans possess objects that have a patina, old furniture, grandparents’ pots and pans — the used things, warm with generations of human touch ..essential to a human landscape.”- Susan Suntag
