the story you tell yourself about being alive

April 20, 2024 | Michael Schneeweis

The story you tell yourself about what it means to be a human being is important.

It shapes the way you relate to the inevitable challenges and pain in your life.

Whether you see life as a blessing or a curse depends a lot on the story you hold around what makes human life worthwhile (or not).

Don't get me wrong. I’m not saying a person’s worldview is the only thing that determines whether they have a “blessed” or “cursed” life. There are horrible injustices in the world. Violence. Systems of oppression. Bad shit we can’t undo by simply adopting a different worldview…

And still, within this larger context, it matters a lot what story you hold about your life and why you’re here. Because the story shapes the journey. And like it or not, we’re on a journey.

The Buddhists have a teaching called ‘precious human birth.’ It’s a summary of why you should be glad you were born into a human existence. The idea is, despite the suffering and pain, having a human body and consciousness is extremely precious.

Why? Because we have a relatively high degree of influence over the inner workings of our life. With effort and support, we can learn how to cultivate beneficial states of mind. We can learn to do good, helpful things. And we can also learn to stop doing stuff that only brings more misery.

In short, the Buddhists teach that being human is a massive opportunity for psychological, physical, and spiritual growth. At the highest potential, we have the capacity for full liberation from suffering, or buddhahood.

And so, given all that, they want you to remember your good fortune and take full advantage of it…

Even if you feel like a failure. Or lazy. Or a bad person. Or lost. Or numb. Or vengeful. Or whatever.

I don’t share this so everyone will start thinking like a Buddhist. Though if you’re interested, I’m always down to talk about it.

But I do think everyone would benefit by thinking about what story they’re holding. Examining it a little.

Does it give you life?

Does it give you some hope?

If not, are you sure it’s the story you want to keep?

Or was it planted in your brain by some greedy capitalist or ‘priest’ or ‘scholar’ or cop or school or teacher or cult leader with an agenda?

This week’s music video is a work in progress. It’s written loosely around these themes of being a person and finding meaning and gratitude within that.

I’d be curious your thoughts on all of this.

And: I’m aware of the lag between the sound and the video, I will do better for next week’s video.

At any rate, I’m wishing you the very best on this journey called life!

See you soon, don’t be a stranger

-Michael

PS if you didn’t see my letter from last week, I just came out with a new t-shirt that says “This is it” in big letters.