Yesterday, I talked about leaving a trail of authenticity behind. Today is a new day.
There's a Japanese comic and animation called One-Punch Man. In this story, the main character, Saitama, is overpowered and no longer enjoys the challenge and stimulation of a good fight. He's so strong that all of his battles can be finished with just one punch. This strength, as he put it, has become a curse. As he stopped feeling any sense of emotion from his fighting, his apathy also transferred into his daily life and he stopped caring. Not being able to have a good fight, he feels so bored and dissatisfied with life.
I imagine that a life without hardship is, contrary to what we might think we want, very boring and predictable in the same way Saitama feels. As with all things, there needs to be a balance of "good" and "bad". If everything we did was without flaw we'd just coast through life. There wouldn't be any need to question anything as what we're doing is always perfect. Without flaws, we'd simply exist. The introduction of chaos leads us to actively and critically think about things such as the consequences of our actions. From the mistakes we make we learn how to move forward.
One way to look at failure is thinking of them as a wall blocking our path. They're obstacles and obstacles are meant to be overcome. They represent how far we're willing to go in order achieve something. In the same way, failures are a test to see how badly we really want something. If you fail at something and just give up, chances are you didn't really care about it that much to begin with. When you come across something that you feel compelled to keep doing no matter how many times you have to try that's life telling you that you've found something worth fighting for. That something, to me, is a purpose.
By working on my flaws and reflecting on my mistakes I've come to develop hobbies that I never would have thought to pursue had my life been smooth the entire time. Reflecting on my errors has allowed me to see what I need to do in order to achieve my goals. They have shown me the difference between what I think would be nice to have and what I truly value in life.
The road may have some walls along the way, but those walls help guide us to where we need to go in life. That's the truth that I've found.
Peace
"Error is just as important a condition of life as truth." - Carl JungOne of the things my students tend to be afraid of when starting my class is making mistakes. In Japan, failure is seen as shameful and so when they make mistakes I see many kids take it very seriously. I've seen some children cry because they couldn't finish their homework or understand everything. Every lesson I try to show them that it's okay to not be perfect. Mistakes are completely natural and it's perfectly fine to make them. The purpose of them taking my class is so they can overcome and grow from them. Mistakes are usually seen as a bad thing, but they're often what help us grow the most.
There's a Japanese comic and animation called One-Punch Man. In this story, the main character, Saitama, is overpowered and no longer enjoys the challenge and stimulation of a good fight. He's so strong that all of his battles can be finished with just one punch. This strength, as he put it, has become a curse. As he stopped feeling any sense of emotion from his fighting, his apathy also transferred into his daily life and he stopped caring. Not being able to have a good fight, he feels so bored and dissatisfied with life.
I imagine that a life without hardship is, contrary to what we might think we want, very boring and predictable in the same way Saitama feels. As with all things, there needs to be a balance of "good" and "bad". If everything we did was without flaw we'd just coast through life. There wouldn't be any need to question anything as what we're doing is always perfect. Without flaws, we'd simply exist. The introduction of chaos leads us to actively and critically think about things such as the consequences of our actions. From the mistakes we make we learn how to move forward.
One way to look at failure is thinking of them as a wall blocking our path. They're obstacles and obstacles are meant to be overcome. They represent how far we're willing to go in order achieve something. In the same way, failures are a test to see how badly we really want something. If you fail at something and just give up, chances are you didn't really care about it that much to begin with. When you come across something that you feel compelled to keep doing no matter how many times you have to try that's life telling you that you've found something worth fighting for. That something, to me, is a purpose.
By working on my flaws and reflecting on my mistakes I've come to develop hobbies that I never would have thought to pursue had my life been smooth the entire time. Reflecting on my errors has allowed me to see what I need to do in order to achieve my goals. They have shown me the difference between what I think would be nice to have and what I truly value in life.
The road may have some walls along the way, but those walls help guide us to where we need to go in life. That's the truth that I've found.
Peace
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| The wall may block the view now, but when you finally get around it, it's that much more beautiful. |
Appreciate some of the "errors" in your life that have helped you grow and discover new truths.
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