The Tao of Living Your Best Apocalypse
For many, happiness is an empty cup; for others, the cup is the treasure, and for a few, they drink straight from the limitless fountain of life.
My son Jessy is a professional skateboarder who lives on the edge of life (image caption.) At the beginning of the pandemic, he joined forces with another creative to shoot this incredible post-apocalyptic award-winning Covid Skateboarding series.
This series’s powerful cinematography reminds me that Jessy and his friends push through impossible boundaries as Gen Y humans (also known as Millennials.) They are undeniably the “wayshowers” of the world during this Earthly incarnation and teach us what it means to be alive and live for our passion through their own relentless search for meaning.
Many Millennials are also struggling to find purpose because they’ve inherited a troubled world filled with systems to dismantle. They have the heavy responsibility (and burden) to raise the children that can heal our planet (said my wise Millennial daughter and incredible singer Janel during a heart-to-heart conversation about the state of our world.) I know she is right. My other millennial daughter, Lydia, boxer/massage therapist and mother of four, can punch your lights out and massage the pain inflicted, haha. She is the definition of a warrior.
Then, there is the benjamin of the family, my daughter Kiani (Gen Z aka Zoomers). The surprise child that came to disrupt and set me on the right path. She is a question mark, so many possibilities! I find it difficult to foresee her future since today’s model seems so broken. Pinpointing what her future will look like is another article altogether. Yet, she has all the attributes to become the President of a new nation if she chooses so.
My children are extraordinary human beings. Therefore as a Gen X member of society, I must have done something right since picking your passion wasn’t the norm in the ’70s.
What generation do you belong to?
Back to the purpose of this article.
The title of this piece is credited to Jessy’s childhood friend Steve. Steve is a free spirit, smart, loves to freestyle rap, and plays the piano. He also knee-dribbles and loves entertaining his IG followers with his fingerboarding skills (mini-skateboard + fingers). Yeah, that’s a thing.
When I asked him how he was doing during the pandemic, his answer was unexpected and exorcized that deep belly laugh out of me. The kind of laughter that releases the pressure from the boiling kettle. “I’m trying to live my best apocalypse!” he said. I remember telling him, “Steve, now THAT’S a GREAT book title!”
How To Live Your Best Apocalypse?
Living your best apocalypse depends on how you view the pandemic. I believe Steve instinctively knew dwelling in daily doldrums and waiting for the world to reset was pointless. If your choice is to dwell in misery, you may be part of the “Empty cup” category. Your wish is to fill your cup with what you most desire, and that’s okay — No judgments here.
How you view and assign meaning to your experiences depends on how you were taught to see life. The way we speak life into manifestations is always full of metaphors, so I decided to play with some words based on Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” (Taoism) philosophy.
The First Type:
“The Empty Cup” type is the metaphor that best describes those that are seekers of pleasure.
Do you love traveling? Do you love trying new things? Do you love new projects or enjoy buying new books, new clothes, new face products. Are you a dreamer seeking to fill your life with meaningful experiences but feel you sometimes lack purpose or direction? If yes — You are part of the “Empty Cup” category. Happiness for you is always at the tip of your fingers but never grasped.
Don’t get offended yet. I will explain later.
The Second Type:
“The Cup is the Treasure” type is the metaphor that best describes those that refuse to let go.
Do you keep loving someone that doesn’t love you back? Do you still wear the t-shirt that belongs to your old boyfriend or girlfriend? Do you hoard books, art, teacups, clothes (with tags or holes), or anything you have an emotional attachment towards? If you answered yes, you are part of the “Cup is the treasure” category. Happiness for you is connected to your belongings.
If you don’t identify with the two categories mentioned? You may be part of the last one.
The Third Type:
The “No Cup” type is the metaphor that best describes those living their best apocalypse.
Do you feel totally crushed? Do you cry and laugh and then go to sleep? Are you insane one day and think you are a genius the next? If this applies to you, you must be part of the “No Cup” category and live off the limitless fountain of life. Happiness for you shifts daily, and it drives you a little crazy.
- The Empty Cup = The Future.
- The Cup is the Treasure = The Past.
- The No Cup = The Now.
Most visionaries and scientists are part of The Empty Cup category. We need them. The evolution of the human species depends on the progress we haven’t discovered. Over time, all explorers have put their lives on the line to contribute to humanity’s progress. It’s not a bad thing to view life as an empty cup, but it’s only dangerous if your hunger for the unknown becomes unhealthy. Especially if the seeking becomes a way to avoid living the present moment or be happy with what you have accomplished so far.
The Cup is the Treasure category comes with a heavy burden. In this category, we find historians, anthropologists, archeologists, and teachers. We need them for their memories because “Time is memory,” said Nassim Haramein — many scientists are part of this category too since we need them to explain these concepts of time to the layman. They must remain in a static state and on location. Their offices are submerged in papers or enclosed in deep dark research chambers. They are the gatherers of knowledge, and without them, we wouldn’t remember how far we’ve come as a species.
The No Cup category is ambiguous. People that live in the now are often judged harshly by type one and type two specialists. These type three generalists shapeshift from day to day but are the life of the party. Sometimes they are plagued by their inability to understand why life has to be so complicated. But we need them to show us how to live simply.
They are farmers, dancers, artists, athletes, and sometimes insane humans who require us to use the present moment to create more beauty. A lot of energy is absorbed when one drinks from the fountain of life. They are daily “makers” of small miracles that may never be noticed. They rise with the sun to plant or stay up all night to write or dance. They feed, paint and entertain the world, and without them, the world is bland.
Living your best apocalypse is choosing to accept what IS and change what could BE by selecting the path that gives meaning and purpose to your life. Once you find which cup matters, your cup (or no cup) can serve the whole (your community or humanity.) Everyone has a role, a place, a skill, or a gift. The world demands that you decide at once what matters to you.
Happiness is a concept. Joy is a concept. Love is a concept, and so is fear. They are fleeting because they are not material things we can store and preserve on shelves forever. They come and go. They are impermanent and free to roam and touch all beings. The Cup can be filled with whatever substance you desire, but the substance must be absorbed. Sometimes the cup will break. If you are saving the cup on the shelf, you may enjoy its beauty but never truly embrace its value. Yet, to observe that cup is a creative act too. The person who made it was AN ARTIST.
You can be better because what you observe matters, but more importantly, you know YOU matter. Your body is the “matter” filled with an invisible fountain of energy. The truth is most of us are a synthesis of all three types. I think it’s time to let go of these categories and identifications and start remembering that we are beautifully crafted and made to carry the fountain of life within us.
How are you living your best apocalypse?
Ps. My daughter Janel says the general state of being for Millenials is “Haha, well f*ck me then!”
Here’s a short clip of Jessy skating Montreal’s Olympic Stadium
Seektash.
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