Being Thankful for the Bad Stuff
A Reorientation
A writer—and, I believe, generally all persons—must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.
—Jorge Luis Borges
My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary—but love it.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Everything has two handles, one by which it may be borne; another by which it cannot.
—Epictetus
Above: Even beauty has its barbs.
Life is a rose: beautiful, but choked with thorns.
They prick and they poke and they prod.
They are not extraneous, but inherent; not separate, but essential.
A rose without thorns is a promise without protection. It naive, defenseless, just waiting to be picked.
Each thorn is a testament to survival, every petal a celebration of resilience.
The whole is incomplete without each and every part.
Everything is necessary.
And everything necessary is good.
You're happy? Good, you're living.
You're laughing? Good, you've tapped into life’s sweetest nectar.
You're in love? Good, you're opening yourself up to another.
You're overwhelmed? Good, you have something worth caring about.
You're stressed? Good, you're engaged in something meaningful.
You're anxious? Good, you're feeling the dizziness of freedom.
You're doubting? Good, you're building your endurance.
You're embarrassed? Good, you're shedding yet another false mask.
You're unemployed? Good, you're en route to your true calling.
You're tired? Good, you have worked hard.
You're struggling? Good, you're strengthening your soul’s muscle.
You're in pain? Good, your nervous system works.
You're suffering? Good, you're learning.
You're crying? Good, you're baptizing away your pain.
You're brokenhearted? Good, you're discovering your heart’s strength.
You're grieving? Good, you're experiencing the depth of your love.
You're lonely? Good, you're mastering the art of solitude.
You're sick? Good, you're discovering your body's resilience.
You're bleeding? Good, blood is coursing through your veins.
These feelings mean you are alive. And with life comes good, bad, and ugly.
Without heartbreak and hardship, you cannot understand what it means to be a human being.
No friction means no spark, and no spark means no fire.
And that’s the point: to burn brightly and brilliantly.
The earth can be a hard place to live, but it is a fast place to learn.
You need not love life every moment.
Life will still love you right back and so too will the Creator who bestowed upon you this awesome gift.
No matter how bad things get, everything is good.
You are a better person because of the things you have experienced.
They have made you, you.
This too shall pass. Patience obtains all things.
Muscles must first tear before they grow strong.
So too must you survive in order to thrive.
Properly considered, every lament can be a lesson, even pain can be productive, and every experience is an education if we let ourselves learn.
White knuckling is good for gripping, but not for living.
Surrender is a salve and acceptance a balm.
Rest easy knowing that if God took you to it, He will take you through it.
If you are experiencing, you are alive.
If you are alive, you can breathe.
If you can breathe, you can hope.
If you can hope, you can do.
The universe conspires to help the courageous.
Greatness is your birthright.
You, specifically, were made to do wondrous things.
They are waiting in the wings.
Keep going.
To be human is to be soft enough to feel, but hard enough to endure.
It won't be easy.
It may take a very long time.
Life becomes great and big and beautiful when curiosity and courage drive it far beyond obligation.
Fecklessness is a high price to pay for safety.
Only those that keep running finish the race.
Only those that keep pushing break through.
Only personal thorns can draw the blood that dyes the rose its resplendent red.
God is good.
Everything is good.
This is the good part.
It's all the good part.
Per my about page, White Noise is a work of experimentation. I view it as a sort of thinking aloud, a stress testing of my nascent ideas. Through it, I hope to sharpen my opinions against the whetstone of other people’s feedback, commentary, and input.
If you want to discuss any of the ideas or musings mentioned above or have any books, papers, or links that you think would be interesting to share on a future edition of White Noise, please reach out to me by replying to this email or following me on Twitter X.
With sincere gratitude,
Tom
You are inspiring.
Love the "You're...." section. I've copied and pasted into a doc so I can print it.