Source of Dissatisfaction, Jacked Nerd Philosophy, #1 Lesson of History
Three Point Thursday
You’re hardwired to be unsatisfied.
There’s an Oscar Wilde quote that makes me laugh and feel a bit sad at the same time, like the tragedy and comedy masks from ancient Greece. It says, “there are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” Some of the deepest truths are paradoxes, and this is a prime example. Fulfilling a desire only leads to the creation of another. It is fundamentally contrary to human nature and evolution to be satisfied. This is the supreme insight of Buddhism: The ultimate cause of suffering and dissatisfaction is desire and attachment, and suffering can be ended through controlling or relinquishing desire and attachment.
Be a bookworm and a gym rat.
Be a thinker and an athlete. Play sports and read novels. Do rows and ponder philosophy. Read history and do push-ups. Contemplate thoughtful essays and go on walks. Embrace books and barbells. Study the great thinkers and do pull-ups. Read scientific works and do barbell back squats. Contemplate history and do push-ups. Journal and stretch. Write and run. Read ancient religious texts and pull the sled. Build both mind and muscle. Be a healthy poet, an athletic intellectual, a jacked nerd.
Alas!
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”
—Aldous Huxley
#HappyThreePointThursday