The Seasons of the Mind

 

    "Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must." — J.W. Goethe

Endurance — the ability to experience an unpleasant or difficult situation without losing yourself.

Some years you win,

Some years you build character. — Steve Jobs

You will know that you are enjoying when your heart is positively eager, curious, and excited about the future — maybe after a compliment, a profit, or a promotion. These feelings encourage you to see the beauty in life, the necessity of being alive, and the unique opportunity to experience it all.

Your endurance will be most required when your self-image or beliefs are proven fragile or misinformed. Feelings of dejection, hopelessness, and frustration chase each other around your mind in search of existential answers.

But again — what did you expect?

This is life: a rare, miraculous, once-off experience on a planet revolving around gigantic stars and galaxies. Governed, as it seems, by nothing but time, space, and silence.

Continually remind yourself, therefore, that it is not your job to control everything or create magic that works only in your favor — but rather, to open your heart and mind to the experience. Smile often. Serve humanity. Sleep peacefully.

Because we are all destined to return to the silence from which we came — and that’s not tragedy, it’s clarity.

“Look around for some enduring good instead. And nothing answers this description except what the spirit discovers for itself within itself. A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.” — Lucius Seneca

And while you're here, understand and appreciate these words by Kahlil Gibran:

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain…

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

In the end, it is not about avoiding the seasons — but learning to move through them with wonder.

— Cancelo Alvarez