The Maze and the Oasis

I had an experience recently while I was scrolling through my phone.

Not sure if you’d call it doom-scrolling because of course, nobody ever accuses themselves of being brain-dead. I always scroll to learn…

But I was scrolling through my phone during a particular time where I was low in energy and feeling like shit.

A few years ago I’d have fought this feeling and thought of it as an indication that the world was going to end and get stuck in no mans land (more on no mans land later).

Now I try to embrace these moments just as fully as the times when I feel great or really high energy. 

I try not to force my way out of them through work or avoid them by distracting myself. 

I’ll actually try to go fully into the feeling in order to experience it as it needs to be experienced. 

This particular time, although I was feeling like shit, I decided to experience it while just doing whatever and wasn’t particularly worried or bothered about being somewhere else, or doing something else.

It was in that moment that I realized, there’s extreme power in saying fuck it and accepting what’s happening and what’s around you in that moment. 

The reason that’s so hard to do is because most of the time, most people can’t stand being left alone with their own mind.

They’re literally obstructed from being able to find any clarity in their mind for multiple reasons. 

Whether it’s trauma, poor mechanics leading to energy getting scrambled in their system or energy being stuck in their head causing them to be stuck in loops.

The power in saying fuck it leads to something interesting happening.

The more you do it the the less extreme the extremes become. 

You get better accustomed at taking the energy from these low moments and bouncing back ready for the high energy, positive times.

It works like a pendulum, and every time without fail, I have always had an equal and opposite positive experience after each low.

No mans land is the place where you refuse to accept these changes in energy and momentum and instead spend most of your time completely somewhere else. 

Never in the moment. Never processing anything in your head. Never submitting to nature. Never learning anything. Never taking the risk. 

Just stuck in a perpetual loop of going nowhere and doing nothing. 

As for your mind throughout all this? If you ever do catch a break from clinging on hopelessly to nothing, if you’re ever given the brief opportunity to pierce through the veil for even a glimpse, you choose to withdraw to your chosen distraction of choice.

Look, even if it’s hell inside your head, extreme acceptance is the only way you’ll begin to appreciate these highs and lows in life.

This is something most religious people won’t explain to you.

The development of faith comes from those moments when you completely submit and let go. 

Embrace and experience them like any other event. 

Try even indulging in them and you’ll soon come to the conclusion of how ridiculous they are anyway.

You’ll most likely just come to some sobering realization about your life that pisses you off and you’ll slingshot yourself to the other end of the spectrum and be motivated for days. 

The more you practice this, the more comfortable you’ll become existing in your mind, and the more you’ll develop a better relationship with it.

I’m not saying this should be an excuse to be lazy all the time and never get anything done, but it’s crucial in the process of acceptance.

You can’t change anything you’re running away from.

Aside from leaving no mans land, getting pissed off about your situation and getting motivated again, the real end goal of all of this?

To be able to exist in your head absolutely. 

Endless creativity, endless energy, leveraging your emotions, not being affected by your environment and unlocking your minds full potential. 

It’s truly an amazing place to get to but you can’t get there unless you adopt radical acceptance.