On your own terms

Life is the sum of all your choices.

Howdy folks! Today, we talk about choice, personal satisfaction and defying conventions. I’ll make it as light as possible so let’s get right into it!

Alrighty, this definitely sets the tone for the read..absolute banger of a song really. A-a-ay, I’m on vacation. If you don’t like your life, then you should go and change it…

What gives you an immense sense of satisfaction? Last week one of my friends asked me, “Why do you workout so much? Why do you want to get big?” I don’t think I’ve actually given her a proper answer because honestly, I haven’t managed to wrap my head around this one. Yet, I get this indescribable gratification after every workout session, hence I’m doing it. My regime instils discipline in me, and although difficult, it allows for me to embark on the highroad to pride and personal satisfaction.

“When you exercise, it increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid — these are all brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, feeling confident, feeling capable, feeling less anxiety and stress and even less physical pain,” Dr. Kelly McGonigal says.

More often than not, people work out and go on diets to avoid being judged due to say, peer pressure. To that end I say, don’t do it for others mate, do it for yourself. One should live for their self-satisfaction and needs, rather than for others to judge. Honour, compassion and self-sufficiency, are tenets of living a satisfied life. Success is measured by others, whereas satisfaction is evaluated by our own soul, heart and mind. If that isn’t reason enough, perhaps it’s time for you to move to pastures new.

Raw footage, tender feelings. Robert is a man who has lived his entire life doing what he loves, seeking no sort of recognition nor financial compensation. He hasn’t a care in the world for who watches on. Neither to showboat nor satisfy, but for his own soul. The purity in this speaks volumes. So, aside from admiring this fine gentleman work through his passions, we should be taking notes.

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A book I am reading right now is Jonathan Swift, The Reluctant Rebel by John Stubbs, a very gripping biography of the notorious Swift, famously known as the writer of the satirical Gulliver’s Travels (1726). It exists in one of my current favourite genres- Social and Personal History. The overarching theme of the book that portrays Swift’s life works, is one of defying conventions.

Swift was an Irishmen who claimed Englishness, a priest cum politician cum writer, and a man whose sympathy for victims of the English state drove the ferocity of his pen. He was a semi-conservative cleric with authoritarian inclinations who rarely smiled and portrayed a stern and patriarchal public persona. In his long life, Swift proved a reluctant rebel, one with a relish for the fight, and often inexorable when provoked — a loudspeaker of withering cynicism unrivalled in English. He was “a daring cultural bandit”, a rebel applauded and abominated in equal measure for the “fury and sardonic bleakness” of his vision.

This monumental biography follows Swift through his countless battles for and against authority. Swift was first, a priest who sought to uphold the dogma of The Church; then a man who was ever-ready to defy convention; and lastly a satirical writer whose vision reveals that no single set of beliefs holds all of the answers. The potency of the impressions Swift created from his candour and frankness gave rise to this impetus to prolonged rumination of the highest quality. Conservative yet rebellious, private yet outspoken, Swift was a stiff-necked recalcitrant.

I rebel; therefore I exist.

When I dig deeper into the book, the concept of inner guidance, or following one’s heart was set forth to me. Swift couldn’t give a hoot about what others thought and was lionhearted in his savagery of Enlightenment England (Th‍eEnlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, began in Europe between the 17th and 18th centuries. Its purpose was to challenge ideas based on faith and without scientific merit.) and Ireland’s highest powers. He just put his head down and churned out literary pieces, fearless about the implications they brought upon society. Fair play Swift, fair play.

Projecting this callous mentality into the 21st century would be a bit of a stretch, but we can acculturate. When you next see a really jarring issue or problem, relating to your school, workplace or society at large, do a Swift, but refashion it. We bless the rains on Cornelia Street, memorise the creaks in the floor…No Alex, Jonathan Swift not Taylor Swift!! Think outside the box, but within the rules & regulations.

I drew many parallels between The Reluctant Rebel and the series Vikings. It was produced for the History Channel of Canada and showcases the rich history of the Nordic and European countries. The series communicates the coming together of cultures, the birth of new alliances and the political tensions that arose. We see the Vikings mixing with the Anglo Saxons, alongside the devastating clash of the polytheistic Norse mythology and the monotheistic Christianity.

The case in point here would be the protagonist, Ragnar Lothbrok. Ragnarwas a humble farmer, one who discovered a new way of navigating the seas in compasses, and one with a mighty vision to head West to discover new lands and riches. He did so against the orders of Earl Haraldson, the chieftain of Kattegat. Ragnar would go on to discover the British Isles and the Holy Roman Empire, yet raiding and plundering was not at the forefront of his mind. He meant to learn more about the English way of life, educate himself as to how they cultivated their vast land, and inquire about the teachings of the Church and the sole God the Christians worshipped.

To be the best, you’ve got to be odd no? Ahh..how i miss Dr Seuss.

Ragnar started off as a farmer who possessed wisdom beyond his age, and ended up as a Viking King whose reputation preceded him, baptised into the body of Christ. Why? Simply because he lived his life on his own terms. He had a vision and went on to fulfil it, disregarding the doubt arising from his compatriots and the precariousness of the journey ahead. He took courage and in a valiant instance, sailed off without a map.

My favourite scene: Before Ragnar Lothbrok was thrown into a pit of snakes by King Aelle of Northumbria, he envisioned the arrival of the Great Heathen Army of 865 with his famous quote, “How the little piggies would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers.”

Your life isn’t yours if you constantly care about what other people think. We should never, for once, find ourselves in the wrong story. Be deliberate about your choices in life, and then deliberate over them. So, by your own rules and your own timeline, go get that tasty loaf of bread!

“But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?”

Alexander SR Pang

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