Man Is Not A Panivore
Meaning he cannot survive on bread alone.
That's a quote from Victor Vazquez, a genius in his own right. Bread can mean a lot of things in modern society. The first thing that comes to mind is the food, bread, but that doesn't actually lend much meaning, so I'm going to use the second meaning: money.
Money is not essential to a happy life. It's needed in society, and it's important, but having a billion dollars won't make you much happier than having a million dollars. Unless buying influence is your sort of thing, that is. But if you're into buying influence, this isn't the blog for you. Again, money is not essential to a happy life. The pursuit of happiness is not the pursuit of money. The pursuit of happiness should be the pursuit of good relationships, a healthy body and mind, something you're passionate about, growing yourself daily, giving back to the community, living well.
Money has its own importance for survival in the modern world and it's important that you have some level of financial security even if it means you've only got a thousand dollars in your savings for emergencies.
Diving deeper into the idea that man is not a panivore, bread can be interpreted as meaning monotony. Living off bread for the rest of your life would be impossible. Just like living without changing or growing. This is an area I've struggled with because for so long in my life I've been adverse to changing. I grew comfortable in my high school environment and tried to maintain it when I went to university. I didn't take many opportunities to be social because I hoped things would just stay the same despite my new environment. I was wrong and I'm so happy I was wrong because I met some of my best friends during my time in university.
When I graduated, it was the same. I didn't want to let the university life I'd lived slip away to the working world but it happened. Life happens despite your resistance and it's so much easier to go with the flow than to fight it.
Things culminated for me a few years ago when I started to adopt the mantra "Show up and see what happens". It was my attempt to keep me open to change. I used to go to parties with friends and try to meet new people and end up making myself look desperate. Adopting and applying the philosophy of seeing what happens wasn't easy. It took a while to adjust but it became a habit of mine to say it before I left the house and before I entered the venue of the gathering. Instead of pushing myself to be some caricature that I knew was false, I stopped caring what everyone thought and went along with the flow of the night. Turns out, that's the easiest way to have fun. That's how I started to open myself up to growing and getting better. By realizing there was something about myself I could directly change, and then changing it, and seeing and enjoying the result, I became enthralled on this journey I'm on now.
The point of this all isn't to force yourself into things you're uncomfortable with, but to be open to changing. Otherwise, you'll stagnate and not grow. Nothing in life is static. Nothing stays still forever; everything is temporary including you. You and your current personality is temporary. Realizing you have the power to change yourself and become more than you are now is a huge moment that leads to new discoveries, new interests, new friends, and an overall expanded comfort zone.
Fear of change is the ultimate enemy of change. Yeah, the unknown is a lot scarier than the known, but within the unknown lies many rewards. Taking risks and being true to yourself is undeniably brave. It yields results.
Are there any ways you feel you're stagnating? How could you change that situation?