odds & ends: obstacles

obstacles. 

to avoid or to tackle them head on, is the first thought that would probably come up.

in life in general, we are constanly faced with various obstacles.  some are easy, some brings us struggles with different degrees of difficulties.  we only have 2 options really on how to deal with them, to tackle and take it on or to simply avoid them.  taking it on may commit us to some struggles, it can bring hardship, but with hardship can bring a far more better reward than just beating the odds of taking on these obstacles. we earn experience, we get educated, we learn and by learning, we understand all the lessons that it may bring.  we learn that what doesn't kill you, can only make you stronger, IF we don't allow it to paralyze us from doing what needs to be done.

to quote george mallory, “to struggle and to understand. never the last without the first. that is the law.” it's the same basic thing that we learn as we grow, learn how to crawl before we can walk, learn how to walk before we can run. i believe in society nowadays, we tend to forget the basic fundemental lessons in life as we move forward. we somewhat forget when things gets rough, we forget how to take a step back and start from the beginning.  i know i'm guilty of this.

so, i've been sorta obsessively reading up on george mallory. i don't know why, perhaps, i'm trying to renew or find a new sense of direction.  it's kind of funny story, but that's for another time.  

well, about george mallory, he's the first man to to climb mount everest, first man to lay out the expedition path and route up mount everest that climbers still use as the standard today. i have long ways to learn more about the man, but thus far what i've learned about mallory is that, he's much more than just an climber, adventurer, a dreamer, explorer, a romantic. mallory is also a philosopher.

mallory didn't see mount everest as just another mountain to climb or another adventure to conquer and all it's dangers and glory. he saw a grander picture of life, not just a symbol of methapor, but life itself and all its struggles, hardship, joy and beauty, from the beginning of it, up to its end. there's a day to day struggles and understanding of life, but the ONE thing that we search for shall reveal itself at the end. to find joy in life, is to live through the struggles in itself. at the end, when people say, you're life will flashes before you, at this point i can only fatom that sheer joy of it all.  this may apply to LOVE itself also, you haven't lived if you haven't loved and got your heartbroken. to love is to love, to love is to live and to live is to love, to find that love maybe a struggle, but to not love due to fear of getting your hearthbroken, that's not living at all. 

mallory said, “So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.”

so we struggle, so we live. we stumble, we fall, but we have to rise again. and all at the same time, we enjoy.

A Spoonful of RyC: Great Read

“You don’t know anyone at the party, so you don’t want to go. You don’t like cottage cheese, so you haven’t eaten it in years. This is your choice, of course, but don’t kid yourself: it’s also the flinch. Your personality is not set in stone. You may think a morning coffee is the most enjoyable thing in the world, but it’s really just a habit. Thirty days without it, and you would be fine. You think you have a soul mate, but in fact you could have had any number of spouses. You would have evolved differently, but been just as happy.

You can change what you want about yourself at any time. You see yourself as someone who can’t write or play an instrument, who gives in to temptation or makes bad decisions, but that’s really not you. It’s not ingrained. It’s not your personality. Your personality is something else, something deeper than just preferences, and these details on the surface, you can change anytime you like.

If it is useful to do so, you must abandon your identity and start again. Sometimes, it’s the only way.

Set fire to your old self. It’s not needed here. It’s too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you haven’t gotten as far as you’d like. This old self will die and be forgotten by all but family, and replaced by someone who makes a difference.

Your new self is not like that. Your new self is the Great Chicago Fire—overwhelming, overpowering, and destroying everything that isn’t necessary. ”

— Julien Smith

interesting read, don't you think so?

i thought so.

i thought maybe, i'd re-share it. 

my cousin, posted this from one of his friends today, and after reading it, i have to admit it some what hit close to home for me. i don't quite exactly know how to describe it and/or to compose the words from my thoughts, but it touched something, a nerve persay that's been relatively been kind of been stuck in my head for quite a while now.

i bold/highlighted the particular lines that stood out the most to me and got me contemplating about a lot of things that's been on my mind. 

hmmmmm... just sayin'... don't get it out of context... especially, don't get it twisted... the real & true contents in my head, you don't really want to know. it doesn't come with a warning label, but definitely can be a hazard to your health... 

*grinnin'

A Bowl of RyC - 'SunRyC'

another day is gone

another night have dawned

another year of life gone

gone to its sunset

time to renew and move on

with a new mindset

now that i realize

time to open up my eyes

to a new sunrise

and to keep focus on the prize

there will be times when i fall 

there will be times when i shine

but first of all

first thing first, i rise. 

'SunRyC'