Book 259 - A Year of Magical Learning (1/5)

Reflection Title: Serve the Pain That You Know Best!

Book – Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty (Part 1 of 5)

Book Description: Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life.

In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.

Reflection:

What an amazing book!

My bullshit antennas naturally perk up when I hear about a “social media superstar” giving life advice on how to life a life of purpose while “thinking like a monk”. I went into this experience pretty guarded and expecting the worst, thankfully I was happy to be proven dramatically wrong. The author, Jay Shetty, is the real deal whose “soul is definitely in the game, as Nassim Nicholas Taleb would say. People with their whole soul in the game are the only people in this world who are worthy of giving your attention, and he is one of them. While he may not be a practicing “monk” anymore, his unique blend of bringing timeless ancient principles that he learned in the ashram into a modern life is powerful. Secretly, I’ve always wondered what a monk would do if he had to find a way to function outside of his monastery in “the real world”…now I know.

Living a life of purpose is a choice you make regardless of the environment that surrounds you, as this author found out through his unique journey. As one of his teachers said when he was thinking of hanging up his robes, “Some people go to university and apply what they learned to become a teacher, and some leave and apply what they learned to become an entrepreneur…which is better?” “Neither” the author responded. “Exactly”, his teacher said. We often think that all conditions have to be perfect for us to find our purpose and where to apply it in the world, but purpose will always find a way to bring itself forth anywhere as long as you are brave enough to act.

Purpose is a mindset and a way of seeing the world through the lens of daily opportunities to turn what matters to you most in this world into actions to bring forth to share in service with the world. Trust me when I say that you can do that anywhere, with anyone, and with any tools you can find. There are no rules to living a life of purpose other than intentional thought and action towards what your heart and mind agree matters most to you in this life. The author found a way to apply his purpose in the world whether it was donning a robe or recording videos on posting them on social media. Now, we all get to learn a little from his unique experience and I couldn’t be more thankful for him sharing.

If you haven’t figured out by yet, I have a LOT of thoughts about this book so bear with me as I take you on another multi-part reflection as I try and make sense of the pages of notes and thoughts stuck in my mind.

For all the amazing things that purpose can bring into this world, it sometimes can feel like this elusive beast to find, understand, corral, and put into action into your life. After-all, the one thing that you are called to do with every ounce of your being doesn’t just magically come along every day.

So, where do you start? That’s the million-dollar question that probably prevents 99% of us from every even beginning this journey toward a life of purpose. The author makes an amazing suggestion that I feel like just might be the best place for everyone to start…

SERVE THE PAIN THAT YOU KNOW BEST!

It’s no secret that my journey toward understanding my own purpose in this world began in immense pain after losing my first-born daughter at only 39 days old. The pain I felt deep inside when I think of the lifetime we lost together is something I can never forget. I’ve spent years thinking, reflecting, and writing about that pain. There is no other feeling that I know better in this world than the pain of watching her final hours of watching her take her last breath in her mother’s arms, or the pain of walking out of the hospital for the last time without her with us.

The pain of waking up that first morning after her passing is what drove me out of bed to do anything I could to honor her memory. I was in service to that pain, to that feeling, and to my daughter. It drove me to action, any kind of action, and I haven’t stopped ever since that morning and have no plans of stopping until the day I leave this Earth.

An important thing to note, pain doesn’t last forever.

If the pain that I felt on that first day was a 100 out of 10, I’m happy to say that it is a 1.5 out of 10 today. While I’m happy to report that I’m no longer in immense pain, it scares the crap out of me sometimes because it makes me think that I’m losing my daughter all over again. What I mean by that is I found my daughter again by discovering my purpose of “Living for 2” with her in all that I do. A lot of what we do together was begun with the searing pain of losing her and it scares me to wonder if my purpose is possible without the pain steering the wheel. This thought truly terrifies me.

Here’s the thing I’ve discovered recently, purpose is not just serving your pain for the rest of your lifetime. You can discover your purpose by working through your pain, but they are not the same. Purpose isn’t pain; and pain isn’t purpose.

Living for 2, in my mind, is the furthest thing from pain you can imagine. Living for 2 is love. Living for 2 is service to my daughter to honor what she taught me through her actions of living a life of purpose. Living for 2 is joy of getting to do things with my daughter even though she still isn’t here. Living for 2 is sharing what Emilia taught me with the world.

Living for 2 may have been discovered in pain, but I now know that pain is not sustainable. What is, love and service! Because I know that living for 2 is rooted in love and service, I am not afraid of finding a way to serve my purpose for the rest of my time on this Earth!

Question: Where did you start when beginning your search for purpose?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Think Like a Monk