May as well

Bring to mind the stereotype of the person you consider “the enemy.” I’m talking about the worst, most intolerable asshole you can possibly conceive. Let’s call them person A. Now, consider for a second, that to someone else you are likely the exact stereotype of the worst, most intolerable asshole they can possibly conceive. Taking it a step further, imagine the most awesome, pure, and loving person in the world. Let’s call them person B.

Now, take away all of the external things that you think make person A awful, and all of the things you think make person B great. Strip both of them down to their very essence. Imagine two completely clean slates, one of which was previously the worst, and one the best, person you could imagine. This is how we all begin. None of us are born shitty, or particularly great at anything. We’re all just born with curious minds and loving hearts. In this sense, we’re all equal. Every one of us is the same in the beginning, and at the end of it all, we’re all the same again. That is to say, we’re all dead in the end.

Consider for a second that everything that happens between birth and death is ultimately inconsequential. We’re humans, having human experiences, but all of it is transitory. None of it is permanent. Long after we’re dead and gone there will be new people doing new people stuff and fighting with each other over whose stuff is better and who lives the more righteous life- it’s all fake. You and I are the same. We are people trying to live our lives, doing the best we can, and far be it from any of us to judge another person’s best efforts. It might seem like crazy fucking bullshit to us, but we haven’t lived the same life they have. We can never know or understand anything about that person beyond our underlying sameness: we’re all born pure, we all die alone. May as well try a little harder to love each other.

---

I’m hosting a monthly live class via zoom via Yoga for Punks. This month’s class is Sunday February 20th, at 10:30 am central! Sign up at Yoga for Punks Live!

---