Popular guest blogger David Erskine returns with more reflections from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Continuing the tradition I mentioned in my previous post, I read about Stoic wisdom every day. It’s a spiritual exercise, as regular and essential as a daily jog.
I recently finished the book Right Thing, Right Now by Ryan Holiday and it inspired me to share my takeaways with you. Hopefully, you will also be motivated to adjust the lens through which you view yourself and the world, and to enjoy and honor the present moment, every single day.
Give Give Give
In the chapter “Give Give Give,” Ryan Holiday explores how each of us can grow in generosity. Most of us think we have to wait until we have more time, more money, or fewer responsibilities before we can commit to giving to others. But if you think about it, generosity can develop with practice. It can become something you do every day, regardless of the resources available to you. Generosity may look like waving to a stranger on your run or asking your Starbucks barista, “How are you?” with genuine care. In my case, it’s telling a dad joke to just about anyone.
Giving is easy and can quickly become a habit. And I’ve found the person who benefits most from my acts of generosity is actually me. Giving feels good.
Your Second Mountain
I don’t like the word “retirement.” I think it could imply that just because someone stops making money from their career, they aren’t doing anything substantial with their time, or they’re just “chillin’ like a villain,” as a friend of mine says. I’ve come to realize life after “retirement” is the opposite. As Ryan Holiday writes:
“There was a time for us to earn, earn, earn, and then later, it’s a time to give, give, give, to help, help, help.”
This shift from doing things for ourselves to doing things for others is sometimes called a “second mountain,” a term coined by author David Brooks. The second mountain is more spiritual and less material. On this mountain, we’re better off, and so are the people we help. I’ve found my second mountain, and I encourage you to reflect on what your second mountain might look like. When you move to your second mountain, you will smile, laugh, and enjoy life in a new way!
Love Always Wins
This is another of the many concepts from Holiday’s book that struck a chord with me:
“The heart is a muscle. You must make it strong. Strong, not hard and brittle. Strong enough to love everything and everyone in all situations.”
We each have the opportunity to lead with love and kindness toward everyone, not just those we agree with or like. This is how great and inspiring people like Dr. King, Gandhi, and Florence Nightingale lived.
We can make a conscious choice to lean into giving, find our second mountain, and to embody love and kindness by leaving our ego and resentments behind. I’ve worked on moving beyond grievances by being present—resisting the urge to replay past hurts or worry about the future. It takes practice, but by letting go of past grievances, I have come to understand that love always wins.
David Erskine
World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi Driver, Author, Tech Sales Director, Dipsea Survivor, and Blogger
If you enjoy David’s posts, check out his new book Fifty Poems Five Decades Fifty Thousand Miles, available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
