02. to those feeling exhausted

We have been taught that struggle and martyrdom are virtuous.

We have been praised for our screams, our battles and our sacrifices more than we have ever centred our laughter, our joy and our love. Life has always been and will always be difficult, and in the face of adversity, we are told to harden and give it our best fight.

→ But I suggest to you, that there is no future in suffering, there is no lasting change in pain.

Even if we succeed in erasing the source of our pain by fighting it with more obtuse affliction of pain, we will one day look back and realise there is nothing left to fight for. Fighting fire with fire, gives us not only a bigger fire, but also leaves behind nothing. Nothing but desolation, and destruction— soil burnt to ash, with no nutrient left to grow new love.

Mind you, this is not a call for anger celibacy, where we hold hands together and sing Kum-ba-ya with the backdrop of famine and war,

…but rather an invitation for joy and celebration for those who need it.

If we want a world where pleasure is available and afforded to all— we must also value our own pleasure, ease and joy and teach our children to value their pleasure, ease and joy— so that they may never accept any less than the peak of connection and love. We must intimately associate ourselves with pleasure, so that we know it when we see it, that our kids know it when they see it. So that we may move forward— towards true connection and love.