“To listen is to search for new opportunities, to seek fresh challenges. The most important book you can read is the one about yourself. It is open. I’ve started to understand why I was so fascinated as a small boy by the snail who carries his house on his back. We can also carry our houses—everything that we have—within us.”
– Erling Kagge, Silence
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“The life of man is like going a long distance with a heavy load upon the shoulders. Haste not.”
– Iyéyasu, quoted in Bushido: The Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitabe
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We never know when our individual journeys will be over.
After 40 years on this planet I am aware that the purpose is not to slip through the days as smoothly as possible. The rough patches are what give us energy – friction creates heat.
But I have often, as a safety mechanism, sought a friction free life. Free of conflict or notable events, just a focus on racing for home, for solitude, oblivion.
There’s danger in seeking out those frictionless days which lead nowhere. If too many are stacked up in succession then life becomes a meaningless blur.
Tackling the challenges of the day to day, every day brings a retrospective satisfaction. I might not always have enjoyed the doing, but I like the having overcoming the obstacles.
I like to think of a day wells spent as one that is travelled at walking pace. I move forward using my own momentum, placing one foot in front of the other, rather than allowing gravity to slide me to the end of the day.
One of the ways to move as a pedestrian is to write. It’s a daily curative for those of us who have a tendency to seek the path of least resistance. If I have written, the day automatically has meaning.
By writing and publishing daily I lighten my load slightly. My head is clear, less distracted, I’m better able to navigate the journey.
If we rush, we risk spilling the load that we are obliged to carry.
I’m still figuring out how to carry myself through this one life.
Some days I might slip, but I try not to slide.
Conversations With Quotations 