You Are a Fart in the Wind, My Friend
By: Geoff Lane
Tags: Stoicism, Death, Philosophy, Motivation, Productivity

And that’s a good thing

Happy Friday everyone. So originally, this post had an alternative title. I was going to call it “In the Eyes of Death, None of us Are Special.” Sounds very introspective, eh? Instead, I opted for the fart title. One operates out of morbidity, the other out of humor. But both are getting at the same thing, and that is this: We will all die. Allow me to back up, though, and explain how I realized this. I mean actually internalized it and had an “Oh sh*t” moment.

You ever experience that feeling of limitlessness? Yeah, the one from that Bradley Cooper movie — Limitless — where you feel like nothing can take you down? Well, that’s a mighty cool feeling. I’m guessing you’ve experienced it a time or two yourself. I know I have. Speeding down a back road, being reckless, for example. Feeling this false sense of security, as if this invisible cosmic blanket would envelop me and carry me out of harm’s way if something actually did go south.

Of course, this is absurd. But I rationalized it to myself because I believed that what life had in store for me would not let me die. That despite countless deaths every day, for some reason I was too important to die. That my path was too important, and I fell outside this group.

But then I thought about that more and realized how preposterous and egocentric it was. It was delusional really. If that were the case, people of “importance” wouldn’t die abruptly.

Martin Luther King Jr, President John F. Kennedy, Kobe Bryant, Pop Smoke. — I know, what a motley crew. All were taken too early despite having so much to live for. If my dumbass reasoning were correct, they wouldn’t have met such untimely fates. But they did. And so could I. Oh, sh*t.

And if you’re thinking to yourself, Yeah okay what does this kid know, he's 23. Well, you’re right. BUT. I am not alone in my thinking here. In fact, Tim Ferriss said much the same thing in one of his YouTube videos (link here). I’m paraphrasing here, but basically, he talks about Stoicism — the practice of separating things you can control vs. the things you can’t, and harnessing the controllable to direct your day-to-day activities. Well, what is the ultimate uncontrollable? Death.

Ferriss talks about how he thinks a lot about death. Specifically, his, and how he uses that as a sense of urgency to get sh*t done. This is what I’m getting at here.

My delusional thought of my path being more powerful than death is easy. It’s easy because if you feel like death isn’t a concern, you’re much more likely to avoid what’s hard. There’s always tomorrow, you might think. But what if there isn’t?

Coming to terms with that is a rebirth of sorts. At least, it was for me. No longer do I drive like a maniac — mostly — and no longer do I shy away from what’s hard. I do what needs to be done. Plus, in doing so, I guess I’m becoming more of a stoic. And I like being more stoic. Makes me feel pretty level-headed. Hence why my boy Tim and I are saying that reminding oneself of one’s impending death is a useful thing!

All that to say the sooner you realize you’re nothing more than a fart in the wind in the grand scheme of things, the better. If Kobe can die, you can too. But instead of lamenting that thought, harness it and use it as an agent of accomplishment. Tally-ho!