Dont Sweat it, Life is not random
One of the reasons I make conscious effort not to complain about life when it deals me a bad hand is, I believe in fate, in destiny. In my mind, nothing happens in our lives randomly, life and death aren’t random in the grand scheme of things, the reason these things happen might not necessarily be to our benefit, but they had been scheduled to happen and there is nothing we can do to stop/change them, so why complain?
Covid-19 came and forced everyone indoors, in order to escape boredom and the weirdness of just being indoors, doing nothing, some of us used our devices more often than usual, our phones, our laptops and other gadgets. They made sure we could get out there virtually, while still being in the safety of our houses physically. They provided some kind of escape, an escape we seriously needed.
While some stuck to their phones and laptops, others stuck to their TVs and totally fed on the fears transmitted in the news every day.(Bad Idea).
The Lockdown forced me out
I was one of the many people who spent more time on their phones, practically living off social media (Twitter). I wasn’t really in a good place at the start of the year, Covid aside (I had lost my job and my side business in the space of 2 weeks, a couple of months prior to Covid), then the lockdown came and an already shitty situation was made even worse.
On one of my twitter scrolling frenzy, I stumbled upon an account (Orangebook_), one whose posts were like nothing I had seen, everything was so relatable, everything written felt like it was directed at me, this account is a goldmine. I liked and shared the post I had just seen, then I immediately went in, I explored his profile proper, and boy was I motivated? Everything he posted resonated truth and reality. Under his posts, commenting were accounts of similar niche. I had just found a new side of twitter and I wasn’t going to remain the same.
I found how to write then I learnt how to read.
Through this twitter account, I followed many other accounts like it, before long, I was practically receiving free knowledge on everything that pertains to personal growth and development. Through these pools of knowledge, I found direction, I found writing. A skill that could well be a survival skill, writing gave me the tool to express my deepest emotions without being judged or interrupted. I could write about my lowest moments without feeling embarrassed, I could pour out my anger and joy in equal measures and all would be well afterwards. That’s how much writing has strengthened me.
I didn’t particularly pay any mind to writing or care for it as craft, but left with nothing but questions about myself, destiny and fate, all I could do was write. I found lots of things to write about, I found love writing about lots of things.
Writing became an escape for me. I don’t know if escape is the word, but I know it became a new reality for me.
I don’t know about being a good writer, I mean I have written a lot, for money, but I wouldn’t say I was a good writer, I just did it good enough to get paid for it...the pay wasn’t great, not good even, but just enough to bring oil in my mouth and some warmth in my belly.
I started writing, this time not because I was paid and given a particular subject to write about, but because I felt like it and loved it while I did it. It has been awakening, the more I wrote, the more I wrote and the more I wrote, the more I wanted to write.
Ironically, the more I wrote, the more I want to read. Writing made me develop an interesting in reading. I found that when I am writing, there is an array of words to choose from, it is so seamless. I learnt reading does that to your mind, opens it up, broad spectrum, you start seeing things in new light...I really love the light in which I see everything now, so refreshing.
I got some book recommendations from some of these twitter accounts that I follow, and the ones that seem to pique my interest were books on personal growth and development. This made me realize that truly, I am on a path to self realization.
Below are some of the books that have been guiding my new path
· Getting things done – David Allen
· The Daily Stoic ( 366 Meditations on wisdom, perseverance and the art of living) – Ryan Holiday
· The Meditations – Marcus Aurelius
· The Cow in the parking lot – Leonard Scheff & Susan Edmiston
· Why way you act the way you do – Time Lahaye
· How to fail at almost everything and still win big – Scott Adams
· The Subtle art of not giving a f**k – Mark Manson
· Practicing the power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
· Train your mind, change your brain –Sharon Begley
· How to change your mind – Michael Pollan
I read extensively about some stoical ways of living, I read about meditation and intermittent fasting. Stoic philosophers believed in the power of conscious living, controlling what is within your control and ignoring what is isn’t.
I read about the benefits of both meditation and intermittent fasting and it felt like they could be more beneficial now than ever. The pandemic brought the world to its feet, forced almost everyone indoors, and forced everyone to live with themselves and in their own minds.
The shrewdness of Stoicism
With me new found interest and love for writing, I found reading. Reading lead me the Stoic philosophers, their teachings gave me poise and direction. In the face of adversary, I persevered, my focus became unshaken. I became a better version of me; I try to imbibe the stoical ways.
Stoicism teaches you to come to terms and empowers you to always be on guard, to always be aware. Stoicism isnt living in denial, stoicism is confronting your problems and demystifying them, making them powerless in your life
Dont get me wrong, I have not suddenly become a Zen master, far from it, I am still my same self, but I have learnt that the mind has a tendency to over-analyze situations and blow things out of proportion, over thinking, impulsive reaction is a thing for the untrained mind, thus my new found knowledge has made me aware, I know when I am about to overreact and I have learnt what I am supposed to do in such situations.
En route a better today
I have achieved the mental fortitude to block out distractions and focus on any task at hand at a given point in time. These distractions many times, come in the form of over thinking, regrets, procrastination, social media, TV, the news, being bothered about what people might say, judging myself too harshly. If my new self had been in the shoes of my old self at the start of the year, it would have been able to make better decisions, decisions that would have been devoid of emotions, which had precipitated the situation I was in before Covid. But now, I have re-calibrated, my life has come full circle and I am taking off in a new direction, more focused and prepared.
Remember, nothing happens randomly, everything is connected Covid wasn’t about me but it happened anyways, it forced everyone in, it forced me to spend too much time on my phone, on twitter, and on twitter I found real modern day philosophers whose teachings pushed me into writing, and ultimately reading, reading the materials of ancient stoic philosophers, I became aware and engaged in practical undertakings to make my life better, I found meditation and fasting, and then I learnt to use writing to manifest express and articulate my thoughts. I can see clearly where this path leads and it is a place much better in every aspect than the place I was at the start of the year, I am on my way to financial freedom and no, I am not talking about readcash earnings.
What a journey! Life is never random.
