The Twin Pillars of Life: Desire & The Present Moment
I have a long queue of articles — both long-ish and Q&Ds (Quick & Dirty) — that I want to write. So it is rare for me to spend much time reading other people’s articles. However, I recently stumbled upon an article written by Benjamin Hardy, PhD, that I had read a couple of years ago.
I remember enjoying Benjamin’s article and I thought it would be worth spending a couple of minutes to write a short Q&D about it.
In his article, Benjamin talks about two principles that are so powerful and that can literally change the way you look at, and live life. I will include a link to Benjamin’s article at the end of this Q&D.
The Power of Desire
The first principle Benjamin talks about is “The Power of Desire”.
Benjamin presents this principle with a short story involving Socrates and one of his followers. The follower asks Socrates how he can go about acquiring wisdom and knowledge. Socrates signals the man to follow him, and the man does. When they get to the ocean, Socrates holds the man underwater, only to pull him up at the last second. Socrates then tells the man:
“When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you desired that breath of air, then you shall have it.”
The main message being that you cannot obtain something you do not really desire. If you don’t want something bad enough, the best of strategies will be fruitless. But when you want something with ardent desire, you will find a way to make it happen.
The Power of Now
The second principle Benjamin talked about is “The Power of Now.” This time, the principle is presented by way of a Chinese proverb — one you most likely have heard before at some point:
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
I’ve always liked this proverb for two reasons. On the one hand, it can give you a small jolt of energy to get you to act instead of waiting or complaining. Also, the proverb reminds us that we cannot take life for granted and that we are always living on borrowed time.
Two, very simple, yet very powerful, concepts.
I am afraid I could not do Benjamin’s article justice by trying to paraphrase his words. Instead, I invite you to read his article, if you have 6 minutes to spare. I think it’s worth it.
Let’s do this.
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