Finding meaning and purpose within the cards you are dealt (and making your own cards)

Lately it has been a challenge getting through the days. I have been dealing with chronic health issues for several years… I guess it’s been over a decade at this point. However, my focus is not on the health issues; rather, it is on finding meaning and purpose within the cards you are dealt.

Much of what I write in this post and others may seem paradoxical, but often it is within the paradox that you can get a glimpse of pure truth. On one hand, I am an extremely competent and capable person; on the other hand, my health can leave me struggling to do basic things, including making breakfast, replying to text messages, or drinking water.

These challenges are not a reason to give up or reduce my ambition. Rather, they are elements of my journey which will help me learn to overcome hardship, gain empathy, and find new perspectives.

At times, I am tempted to simply put a hold on life and lie down just to take some rest and catch up on my breathing. However, as much as I find that to be a useful short-term action, it becomes difficult when your issues are chronic and persistent. Maybe I’m being impatient, but on the other hand, I think I would be happier if I found a way to radically accept the situation and persevere to get through the minutes, or even seconds, at times.

And at the same time, there’s an angle of co-evolution, where I can learn more about my challenges and how to restructure my life, my ambitions, and my expectations—not to give up, but to go with the flow of the water. We are creatures of agency and creativity, which allows us to change the rocks around us, move them, or increase and decrease the depth of the water as needed.

I generally appreciate the metaphor of water going around the rocks in a river, because it’s a metaphor that you can dive into quite deeply without it falling apart.

Having said all of this, I still plan to be buried outside the solar system; I’ve got my work cut out for me 🙂