Suffer With Pride

You will die. All of us will. In the interim between the beginning of our lives and the end, life itself will challenge us, make us suffer, take from us that which we hold dear, rob us of our health, and in some cases, our minds. God will not interfere. God will not ease the suffering. God will not give you more time. God will expect you to answer his questions and calls even as you suffer, your duty is expected.

Life goes on:

We arrive here ignorant and naked to the world. We bring nothing to the table except for the potential locked in ourselves. That alone gives us value. That alone should make us happy because, whatever we bring to the table today, however inadequate it may feel, it is always better than nothing coupled with an unspoken promise of "potential." All the almost of life hide in that potential. So do the successes and failures that shape us into human beings, lovely and horrible.

I remind myself daily what I am here to do. It is such a narrow scope. I grew up believing that my destiny was grander than what was apparent. But it isn't. It is depressingly simple and encapsulated in the words I wrote for my signature:

"This world isn't for you and me. It is for our posterity. This burden is a blessing. I get to do this. Let all the awful things happen in my time. Let me fight. Let me carry more. Let me die for it. Our duty is to the prosperity of the future, not our comfort today.

Suffer with pride."

I will. Until the day I no longer draw breath, I will suffer with pride.

a reply to: projectvxn

The older you get the more you will understand.

2nd.

Our duty is to the prosperity of the future, not our comfort today.

This is forgotten by many, myself included. It is a good reminder to have, and one that I actually needed to hear today. Thanks.

a reply to: projectvxn

That's just the thing there is no such thing as a normal life there is just life. Live it learn from it become stronger with each hurdle you overcome. No matter what happens to any of us the world will just keep on spinning.

In the immortal words of Joe Dirt life's a garden dig it you cant give up you gotta keep on keeping on until the light leaves your eyes.

Fantastic post. Very true words which need to be read and comprehended by all. For whatever reason I've known what you write intuitively for much of my life. I'm 53. Thank you for putting it in a verbal form.

a reply to: projectvxn

"This world isn't for you and me. It is for our posterity. This burden is a blessing. I get to do this. Let all the awful things happen in my time. Let me fight. Let me carry more. Let me die for it. Our duty is to the prosperity of the future, not our comfort today.

Suffer with pride."

We need a new acronym to replace TANSTAAFL, that's so old.

There Ain't No Peace Dividend. TANPD (pronounced Tamped).

Said the WWI vet fighting in WWII "Hey, what the hell is this? I already won the War To End All Wars!"

"What will my children say?"


"What will my Grand Children say?"

"Grab your ARs! There's Commies in the Blue Cities!!"

BITNR (Blue is The New Red, pronounced Bitnore)

TANPDBITNR (Tamped Bitnore)

Allan Watts is pretty bulletproof

originally posted by: projectvxn
You will die. All of us will. In the interim between the beginning of our lives and the end, life itself will challenge us, make us suffer, take from us that which we hold dear, rob us of our health, and in some cases, our minds.

Well... aren’t you just a ray of sunshine on a dark gloomy day.

That's why we recovering drunks in AA constantly remind ourselves that It's "One Day At A Time" and "Let Go and Let God"


I think it's good advice for even nondrunks....."Easy Does IT" also works!

a reply to: projectvxn

We all come into the world naked and alone, and we all go out the same way.
I do like suffering and embrace the suck.

Me and my brother did a little under 200kms (by bike) in under 24 hours and it was great....it sucked but you have to embrace it or you buckle under the pressure.

Fun times.


Always enjoy it and keep your chin up.

Life is your own personal Tough Mudder course. You either learn to love it or you get ground down and whine about it. I prefer to love it. It makes things so much easier.

a reply to: projectvxn

Either you do it all like it’s a weight on you, or you realize that all of it, good and bad, is just part of the dance of life. And act accordingly.

Though some people need something to fight against. Some people need a millstone around their neck to feel validated. If that’s you, more power to you.

No one gets out alive. The only thing that matters is the quality of the time spent before we reach that point.

a reply to: ketsuko
“The world is your exercise book, the pages on which you do your sums. It is not reality, though you may express reality there if you wish. You are also free to write lies, or nonsense, or to tear the pages.”
Richard Bach Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

What it all comes down to is whether you've identified and are willing to do your duty as a forward thinking human being. Are you willing to make difficult decisions? Are you willing to sacrifice your satisfaction today for the prosperity of your great-grandchildren

Are you willing to carry the burden of duty? You must "plant a tree whose shade you'll never sit under." Can you do that?

Are we willing to extend our gaze farther than the next election period? The next dip in the market? The next IPhone release? How much are we really willing to take responsibility for our lack of foresight? To what extent will the consequences of abdicating our duty to the future be felt? Who will feel those consequences? Will they be dulled by real life's version of Soma?

Will it be felt by anyone? Will there be anyone?

a reply to: projectvxn

Some of us are willing to sacrifice in all areas of our lives for our progeny. Some of us are willing to sacrifice in some areas. While there are those who are only ever looking out for themselves and the next fleeting gratification they can paw at. Then there are those who cross these boundaries throughout our lives- often going from one extreme to the other. I think we end up at one of the ends and not so much in the middle, as a little bit of selfishness quickly gives way to total selfishness. Add to this the issue of differentiating what is selfish from what is taking care of oneself so that we can be in a place to truly help those around us when they need it.

a reply to: projectvxn

forward thinking human being.

You mean like a progressive?

Yeah, I've been thinking about that.
Climate change,
Environment,
Living wage,
Affordable health care,
Healthy and safe workplaces, enforceable by law,
Birth Control,
Equal rights,
Despite the decrease in corporate quarterly profit margins.

You must "plant a tree whose shade you'll never sit under." Can you do that?

I've been thinking that maybe my twice monthly donations to the local food bank is sort of nearsighted. I don't want to give that up. So I'll keep doing that and look for a worthy tree planting venture to donate to in addition to the food bank.

That way, I can keep my present egotistical gratification and do something for the future too.


So I was engaged for five months this one day. I just got done loading groceries in the car, and was just getting behind the wheel, when my fiancé opened the back door, put something inside then jumped in the passenger side saying, "Go. Go. Quick."

Turns out that she had stolen a magnolia tree, and she wouldn't let me take it back. So we eventually found a nice clearing in the woods so it could get adequate sunlight.

We let it go in the wild.

Properly planted according to the instruction tag of course, with water and everything.

I haven't gone back to sit under that tree. That's a start.

a reply to: pthena

Wow. I didn’t read his op as political at all. Just a reflection on “me me me” culture that is blossoming.

a reply to: chelsdh

The OP struck me as a desire to die gloriously in battle (for the peace and prosperity of the future, of course).

Maybe just my jaded preconceived notions and what not. My bad.

a reply to: pthena

Maybe I’m not active here enough, or I find another thread when the mindless back and forth starts.

I could be wrong. The op could have meant it in the way you perceived. What stood out to me is that everywhere in society we have people focused on themselves- what they want, what they feel- and they want to force their own perspective on everyone else. “To hell with you, what about me?” kind of attitude. I think that is at the core of a lot of the upheaval. Let’s erase the past because it makes you unhappy (not you, the proverbial “you). Most spiritual practices put emphasis on taking care of our fellow people, often putting ourselves at a disadvantage to help those in need. But so many wanna know “what’s in it for me?”.

When we forget about those who came before us and don’t think about those who come after us, we burn it all to the ground in pursuit of the things we want, and often those things are just to fill the voids in our lives. Those voids aren’t filled until we find true peace- which many people say they find only in the service of others.