Livin' La Vida Luna y Luca
Cheesin' w/ Cheerios stuffed Cheeks
Amor Fati
Amor Fati, a Latin phrase meaning "love of fate," is a concept popularized by Stoic philosophy that encourages embracing all aspects of life, both positive and negative, as good or at least necessary.
It involves accepting and potentially loving even negative experiences like suffering and loss as essential parts of one's journey.
But we have to be careful with how we interpret this definition.
Affirming your fate is not a license to walk around with rose-colored glasses and smile while you repeatedly get punched in the face.
It's more so about embracing what is, rather than wishing things were different.
The story of the Chinese farmer (supposedly) by Alan Watts portrays it well:
The Story of the Chinese Farmer:
Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.”
The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”
The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.”
The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”
The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad — because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.
— Alan Watts
Yo, Chinese farmers are super chill. This guy doesn't react with either joy or sorrow to the good or bad. He simply acknowledges the events as they are and continues moving forward.
Why Am I Telling You This?
It's no different than any other week.
I'm simply writing to you what I need to be reminded of myself.
I need to avoid making premature judgments about specific events because the full impact can't be understood looking forward. The dots can only be connected looking back.
I also want to get back to being resilient. I feel like I'm getting softer as I age. Minor inconveniences bother me so much. I need to stop labeling these things as "bad" or even "inconvenient" and just adapt to ever-changing circumstances and maybe even try to find meaning in them.
I'll leave you with this - a short video of Jocko Willink driving the point home in a way I never could: Good.
