We do the best with what we’ve got.

Which doesn’t always pan out in looking impressive, given the day

A thought occurred to me awhile ago that Words of Wisdom was likely going to have to change format over time, for a couple of obvious reasons. Firstly, this is not a self-help blog, so while I feel as if there is plenty of insight I can share about personal refinement, and definitely within the context of self-identity related discovery and cognitive reinforcement, there is only so much practical advice I can give overall, let alone in a given week, especially with a largely static, working class schedule, that would involve newly discovered wisdom that I could ever practically encounter or consider, without at some point, rearranging my life purely for the sake of generating ideas. That sounds a little performative, and therefore, in bad faith, and one of my constant advocations is to live authentically, even if that means in a messy, imperfect way. We are all humans after all, and it’s important to not lose sight of what gives us strength, the weaknesses the round us out, and the fundamental flaws and frailty that help to create the baseline experience of the human condition, and the wildly imperfect humanity that follows.

Secondly, I think the other reality I was confronting was that, insight doesn’t always have to concern itself with the immediacy of self, either through something that lies within us, or even an element of our everyday that we have the ability to change. Even though I don’t swear or even live rigidly by stoic mentality, one of the strengths of utilizing (or at least borrowing and imbuing one of its better qualities, in reference to my idea involving last weeks Words of Wisdom: Venerating Venn Diagrammables), is the notion that their remains intense value in recognizing what we are unable to change, and being able to accept that with a calm awareness, in spite of existing in an insane, chaotic world, often beyond our control or reckoning, we don’t necessarily need to live in fear of the unknown, nor do we need to let the scope of that situation regulate our emotional state. We are able to live full, content, rewarding lives, even in, and especially through, the insanity of the most tumultuous days, as we refine and renew who we are, in response to a universe that tramples the spirits of those in its way, in the relentless, unyielding spirit only nature can ever muster. Remaining firm in our resolve in those moments, holding onto the values that we have assessed as worthy of maintaining, and holding out against the fury of the everyday with resolute tenacity, in the face of absolute eternity, and in stark contrast to the inevitability of death. All of that resiliency in the face of the ephemeral forever, in essence, is what makes us mighty, and it is that energy beyond any reason, rationality, or logic, that will empower us to our last breath, and keep us fighting for another day.

As always, take care of yourself, and others.

-Pashford