I can't find it now but recently saw someone describe being an interdisciplinary artist as "doing crop rotation on your brain" and I can't think of a better descriptor
the most effective stance a human being can take is “effortful faith”: trust that everything will be okay, combined with ferocious action towards a desired outcome. most people hover between “scared action”, “scared passivity”, and occasionally, “trusting passivity”; very few people are able to access intense action from a place of inner security, but that’s the most alive approach
if you base your worth (and therefore your perceived access to belonging and therefore safety) on achieving a certain amount of success, whether financial, academic, creative, etc, then you will always have a certain amount of tension until you reach that achievement - your body is running a constant background process of “not safe yet not safe yet not safe yet”
but even when you achieve that success, the tension doesn’t go away, but rather shifts to clenching around the success: “must stay safe must stay safe must stay safe”. it’s the same fear, of the not-having, though now it’s a defensive posture rather than an offensive one
there’s nothing “wrong” with spending your life this way; many people do. but internal tension disrupts our ability to see & think clearly, and to feel connected to others, ourselves, and the world. that often makes it harder to achieve lasting success, though many people find a way regardless
but if you don’t want to exist in this particular tension, then you need an alternative source of worth & safety - one that is durable and unconditional. that can be achieved two ways: through spirituality (connection to something larger) and through inner work (connection to Self). ideally, both
Silly Business Theory is right: in the future the best work, greatest progress, most valuable innovations won't come from laboring under the false consciousness that work must be hard and serious to produce value. The best work is going to come from people playing and having fun.
omg i think i know the circle you're talking about, older handsome italian gentleman fr
> near the end, a guy who had a very strange aggressive attitude told me he didn't like my birthday circle because he wanted to see me struggle, and I didnt.
this kinda thing is why I stopped going circling, i want to circle with loving/sensitive/tender people, not sadists