Save Your Soul, Break Away
Sometimes it just isn't worth the toll.
Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.
Souls and Seas
Pay attention to how you feel. Don’t blindly following every emotional whim. Recognizing when fear or anxiety raises its head when you can. Those feelings are akin to a lighthouse warning a ship of the rocky shores ahead.
When fear and anxiety whisper in your ear, it's time to pause and consider. Are these feelings signaling an upcoming challenge or a past misstep that needs addressing?
Feelings of anxiety and fear can be as hard to untangle as a sailor's knot. But paying attention to them, deciphering their message, is crucial. They are not just disturbances in the water; they are signals to navigate by.
Take heart, life's emotional journey isn't all stormy seas. Sometimes, we ride the crest of a wave, feeling overly happy or manic. But beware, for decisions made atop this wave can crash down hard. The same goes for the trenches of depression. Recognizing these emotional states is like understanding the tide – it informs how we should navigate, even in the most turbulent waters.
You've got to steer the ship, even when the sea is rough. Acknowledging these emotional states isn't a sign of weakness but a mark of a seasoned sailor who knows the waters well.
Now, let's delve deeper into the waters of conscience. Here's the heart of my advice: steer clear of what destroys your soul. Avoid the jagged rocks that crush your innermost beliefs and values. It's one thing to navigate difficult waters, but another to willingly sail into a storm that tears at your sails.
Consider this: you're at a job, maybe at a bank, where you're asked to push predatory loans or high-interest credit cards to those who can't afford them. Each action against your conscience is like a small leak in your vessel, threatening to sink you over time. You may survive physically, but what about your inner self?
It takes courage, lots of courage, to walk away from those situations. There are many aspects to consider that may be present in your life. But think about it, can you continue to live, to truly live like that? When something rips at the very fiber of your being, it’s time to step away. If you can, do. If you cannot, make a plan to.
Sometimes you have no choice. Sometimes you cannot even make a plan of egress. Those are more difficult, extreme, and dangerous. Naturally.
In extreme situations, like those described in Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago," choices are limited. Survival becomes about keeping faith, conscience, and soul intact amidst the storm. This is where acceptance and virtue become your lifeboats, helping you stay afloat even in the harshest conditions.
Choosing the right path, the one that aligns with your conscience, isn't the easy route. It's the path filled with headwinds and hidden reefs. But the alternative – sailing against the wind of your own morals – is far more perilous. It's a journey that can change you, and not for the better.
As you sail through life, pay attention to the tides of your emotions and the compass of your conscience. Navigating these waters may be challenging, but it leads to a journey that's true to yourself, and that's the most rewarding voyage of all.
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Makes me think of certain friends I have who are absolutely lit up with life/soul force. They are not the richest people I know (or anything close to it) but they are far more wealthy than others I know who have put money and prestige first. I agree with Teyani, ain’t nothing worth selling your soul.
Nothing is worth the cost of selling yourself out