Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

Note here that I am not intending to criticize these particular “self-help” authors, nor am I
condemning any particular “self-help” practices. This a also not call to masochism, nor is
it a summons for self-neglect in any way, shape or form. Rather, it is a call for you to set
aside your search for mere “happiness”, and it is a summons for you to return to true Joy.
It is simply a reminder of the following simple Truths:
Truth #01: No matter how happy or healthy or whole you feel, pain of one sort or
another is going to keep finding you – again & again, over & over, for the rest of your
life. There is simply no escaping that fact. As such …
Truth #02: The Meaning in your Living does not come from eliminating your
discomforts, but rather from choosing to transcend your selfish impulses during life’s
painful moments, and finally …
Truth #03: This transcendence is always available — to every conscious being in every
moment of their lives – regardless of the pain you might experience or the fear you might
feel.
In conclusion, then, your true Happiness (what I like to call “Bliss”) does not come from
“good times” or “good people” or “good fun”; you cannot study it and thereby slowly
“get it” over time, and you cannot pray for it to be given to you someday “from above”.
Indeed, these myths (along with the myths mentioned earlier) are not only ineffective, but
counterproductive. Not only do they not bring you closer to real Joy, they actually send
you deeper into the maw of your own fear. Essentially, they are nothing more than your
ego convincing you to set yourself on fire in order to feel a little warmer.
“Life shrinks or expands in direct proportion to
the intensity of your courage.”
~ inspired by Anais Nin
“Courage is consciously — and actively —
resisting fear. It is the moment-to-moment mastery
of anxiety, not an extended absence thereof.”
~ inspired by Mark Twain
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
~ Louis McHenry Lowe
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