Being lifted out of a funk is marvelous. The vehicle of that nudge however – not entirely predictable. Bemoaning my woes to a friend who’s fighting the good fight with me, she said she wasn’t anxious about events – called herself a “happy warrior.” Jealous me; I was anxious, restless and prickly – applying all known remedies in my tool kit, making small progress.
Serendipitously my angel network sent me a link to an article about Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens in The Guardian. Ding, ding, ding; the tumblers of my mind begin falling into place.
Chapter I: “An Animal of No Significance
About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. The story of these fundamental features of our universe is called physics.
About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules. The story of atoms, molecules and their interactions is called chemistry.
About 3.8 billion years ago, on a planet called Earth, certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms. The story of organisms is called biology.
About 70,000 years ago, organisms belonging to the species Homo sapiens started to form even more elaborate structures called cultures. The subsequent development of these human cultures is called history.
Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the Cognitive Revolution kick-started history about 70,000 years ago. The Agricultural Revolution sped it up about 12,000 years ago. The Scientific Revolution, which got under way only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely different. This book tells the story of how these three revolution have affected humans and their fellow organisms.”
Amazing how this un-funked me. Infinity … Eternity … and Me. When I think about now – this time in the history of everything, my angst isn’t going to make a bit of difference. I can certainly do my part to fill the ocean one drop of water at a time. I can do it as a happy warrior – or I can do it as a ragged out, blathering mess. Hmm. Touch choice.
The history of humankind … good, bad? It’s all in how I choose to see it.
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“What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” – Viktor Frankl
It’s curious how often I do what I think I SHOULD do – what I was brought up to do. I was taught to behave in prescribed ways, believe culturally acceptable ideas and fear the consequences of misbehavior – of being ostracized. It’s my obligation, my duty; to behave correctly – according to my people, my culture.
As a corporate wonk, I took a psych test to find out what traits might derail my career. One of my derailers was mischievousness. HA! Knowing this delighted me – and strangely enough I exploited it. Maybe that didn’t do me many favors – but I felt liberated; maybe like Veronika. Being a nonconformist in a buttoned up world boosted my desire to retire early; loosened those golden handcuffs.
Four years ago I read the book, Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D. They told me that if I want to be vital and energetic; to maintain the get-up-and-go that gets more elusive each year – I need to stay active (“Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life”). Oh; and I need to eat right (“Quit eating crap!”). Two of my favorite things! HA! Gotta REALLY want health to make that effort.
It was an eye-opener having a pessimistic, dystopian, fear laden counter-view shoved in my face. Ignoring the bad maybe wasn’t my best strategy. Getting gob-smacked is a bitch. Being asleep at the wheel, trusting that things will “work out” – landed me flat on my ass.