What I’ve been reading:
“Life Without Principle” by Henry David Thoreau
If you are someone who considers themselves a lover of freedom, individuality, and authenticity, anything by Henry David Thoreau would be a great choice for your next read.
This essay is described as the clearest and most simple statement of Thoreau’s "defiant individualism," as well as his "plea for the individual’s right to march to the sound of his own drum no matter what churches, government, public opinion, or neighbors may say."
Warning: reading this essay will undoubtedly lead you to question the way that you are living your life, and it might not be pleasant.
What I’ve been listening to:
Theo Von podcast with Scott Stapp
I rant on my instagram stories quite often about how what made podcasts great and popular was the fact that they were genuine conversations, but that today, most podcasts are just like TV-interviews, except for being long-form (which does make them superior to TV interviews, to be fair).
Well, Theo Von has a real podcast. Every episode is the most genuine conversation. So genuine that it’s not rare for him to show that he is not sure what more he and his guest could talk about.
Scott Stapp is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed.
It’s always interesting to me to listen to conversations with people who have achieved wild levels of fame and success in their field, struggled emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as a result of that fame and success, but still managed to get out of that wild ride with a visible inner peace, as well as with wisdom acquired from real-life experiences.
What probably left the biggest impression on me:
Stapp talked about how he grew up in a religious, but abusive, household. Every Monday night, he was ritually beaten by his father for "all the bad things he had done but wasn’t caught doing" and all the "bad thoughts" he had.
However, he says that there is something good that came out of all the abuse.
One of the things he was also forced to do for punishment was to write down Bible verses, and then also write what those verses meant to him, to offer his interpretation.
"Looking back, it trained me to be a writer, a lyricist. It trained me to learn how to put my thoughts on paper in a poetic and unique way. "
Talk about using the power to change your perspective and find something valuable even in a situation where it would be understandable for someone to start hating life, or even to decide to end it.
What I’ve been thinking about:
A healthy dose of ego
One way to make sure that this story called your life is not special is for you to believe that it’s not.
Yes, all of the things that you’ve been through so far, and all of the things that you will go through, have already been experienced by other humans, and will be experienced by countless other humans, at least on some level.
This is a good reason to feel empathy and understanding for your fellow humans.
But you cannot allow this to make you think that the life that you are living is not a unique story, unlike any other before, and unlike any other that will ever happen.
This is just a note that I wrote when reminding myself that, while I won’t deny anyone’s uniqueness, I will live my life as it’s the most unique story ever told. I would be happy if you did the same.
Thank you for reading.
Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry for yourself.
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"One way to make sure that this story called your life is not special is for you to believe that it’s not. "
Just wanted to highlight this.
Love me some Thoreau. I have one of his quotes tattooed on my arm!