4/26 Journal
Granting space for interruptions, 3 elements of an exciting day, and other ramblings
Hardly anything ruins my morning more than a late start—which is most often preceded by a late end to the day prior.
What’s most annoying is that the thing that most often delays the end to my day is the thing that makes life worth living: other people.
So, I’m forced to compromise.
I really do love early mornings, though. No other point in the day matches the tranquility of the rising sun. Not even the setting sun.
Anyway, I don’t know what to talk about today. Perhaps yesterday will do. Yesterday was fun; I went to the beach with my two lovely friends. Though I had to pee, I did not get in the water at all, and I stepped on a shell that pierced my foot. I now worry there is a fragment of it lodged somewhere in my skin, though I think the soreness I feel is just the stab wound.
I like writing the newsletter like this, and I’ve received some positive feedback from these more journalistic posts, but I worry I am not entirely executing my mission, which is to help my readers wake up excited.
I do wonder, sometimes, what it means to wake up excited . . . What is universally necessary to cultivate a life you’re excited to wake up for?
Well, for one, you must be physically capable of feeling excited. If you are unhealthy, you could win the lottery and still feel like shit (not that the lottery is the best thing that could happen to someone).
I don’t think health is all that complicated, but people, for some reason, make it out to be. And, while they get sick every third month, they refuse to change their ways.
I recognize about 8 basic tenets of good health:
Get enough quality sleep (I’m lacking in this department)
Drink clean water
Exercise 3-5 times per week
Eat natural food
Get enough sun
Connect with the earth
Be present
Don’t be an asshole
I’m leaving out a great amount of detail, but if you manage to do those things, you will, for the most part, be entirely physically capable of waking up excited.
I think the next thing you need to wake up excited is something to look forward to. There needs to be something in your day that you enjoy doing . . . Ideally, you’ll enjoy what you do all day. But if not, one thing is a good start.
Obligation is the ultimate obstruction in this step. If someone is bound to something during the day—say, something that demands 8-9 hours of their time for 5 days per week—they will surely not wake up excited.
I can hardly see how someone could wake up excited when they are obligated to be inside an air-conditioned building for 40 hours per week.
And no matter how well some job pays, I struggle to see how someone could be rich if they do not look forward to their day. I don’t care if you have a billion dollars in the bank—if your day is a mere prison, you are very poor indeed.
I feel bad for saying this because my parents have sacrificed so much for me to be able to do the things I’ve done . . . My words are certainly coming from a place of ignorance. But I truly believe that 5-10 years of dedication would grant anyone a life they’re truly excited to wake up for.
Most people are simply unwilling to wait that long. They’d prefer not to take the pay cut, not to struggle, not to be the guy dropping off sandwiches so they can earn a little more and look like they got their shit together.
It’s only those who don’t give a rat's ass about what other people think that are able to break free of this prison.
And finally, the last thing someone needs to wake up excited is people to wake up excited with.
I don’t care how introverted you are, if you don’t have people to share your life with, life will weigh down upon you.
Alright, enough of that.
In the past month, I’ve accumulated six parking tickets. I don’t hate all the parking ticket people, though some of them give me a damn good reason to.
Last night, I cooked dinner for three of my buddies. I wasn’t planning on cooking for anyone other than myself, so I didn’t have enough food at the end to enjoy a full dinner.
And I didn’t eat much during the day either . . . There’s something about not eating enough food in my day that drives me crazy. I’ve been so focused recently that I hardly have time for one meal a day. Let alone two.
I’m in decent shape, but I wish I were a little bigger, not in the horizontal sort of way but the vertical sort of way. Seeing that I’m 24, I don’t know if there’s much else that could be done about that, but I’m hoping God graces me a few more inches. I guess it’s fine, though, because I’ve heard short people live longer.
I was supposed to go to the beach today, but clouds have consumed the sky. I no longer feel as motivated to do anything. My morning work session, which is far from the worst it’s ever been, hasn’t been nearly as on the money as I’d hoped it would be.
There’s something about a cloudy day that completely undermines my mood. Perhaps you feel the same.
I’ve sort of figured, though, that any sort of feeling, especially if it’s negative, is entirely adjustable. You just gotta do a few things differently. Move around a bit, maybe say a few more thank you’s, take a few breaths. Life’s not all that horrible, but we make it out to be.