Find the greatest burden that you can bear and then bear it
“Find the greatest burden that you can bear and then bear it,” says Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. That for me encapsulates what I believe is the meaning of life. This idea affirms that to live is to continuously contend with the realities of suffering. It also implies a glimpse of hope, that by carrying a valuable burden, the hardships of living can be worthwhile. It is crucial then, for a meaningful life, to make proper sacrifices for the betterment of one’s own Being.
The most captivating aspect of that idea is the word “find”. To “find” means to explore an unknown territory, voluntarily and courageously, in hopes to discover something worthy. It also echoes the notion of looking for that that was once lost but valuable. To “find” entails risk in our world full of uncertainties. The possibility of finding trouble instead of treasure is real. But the danger of unearthing a disaster is better than the cost of willful blindness. When we cease looking for things that matters, we inevitably gave them up and lose them. If nothing is worth finding, then nothing is truly valuable. That is meaninglessness, a terrible way of looking at the world.
The possibility of finding trouble instead of treasure is real. But the danger of unearthing a disaster is better than the cost of willful blindness. When we cease looking for things that matters, we inevitably gave them up and lose them.
The idea, however, makes a radical claim that what we ought to seek must be a burden that we can willingly carry. This seems to be counterintuitive since humans are not willing to experience, let alone seek pain and suffering. We have the tendency to avoid these as much as we can. To clarify this matter, it is important to flesh out the essence of what it means to carry a burden. Let us look at the agony of Jesus Christ before his captivity and crucifixion. When he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and pleaded “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done”, he is clear about one thing. Sacrifices and hardships ought to happen if one desires to fulfill a higher purpose. There is a noble moral reason involve in the adoption of that burden. There is an aim, a wish-upon-a-star, that turns pain and suffering worthwhile. It is a call that should not be taken lightly. It is the Red Skull asking Thanos to sacrifice something that he loves to obtain the soul stone. It is to carry a burden with faith with the hopes of bearing a treasure in the end. If one’s purpose do come true only through proper sacrifices, then what should be the purpose that is most deserving of that sacrifice? This question is a meditation to unravel one’s own highest value. And what better purpose deserves the heaviest and most valuable burden other than making Being better.
We are called to make Being better even if that inevitably means carrying a burden forever. This fundamental axiom is key to a meaningful life. To improve Being means to fix what needs fixing when it needs to be fixed. This is extremely burdensome since the nature of reality, if left unattended, bend towards hell. But those who accept the challenge of making heaven out of the wretched human experience encounters life deeply and meaningfully. The dragon of chaos hordes gold and the courageous hero who confronts this reptilian monster are bound to receive a fully and truly rich existence.
…those who accept the challenge of making heaven out of the wretched human experience encounters life deeply and meaningfully. The dragon of chaos hordes gold and the courageous hero who confronts this reptilian monster are bound to receive a fully and truly rich existence.
Life is already filled with potential destruction but the absence of any sacrifice and hardships that may mitigate this will make living hellish. It is daunting and arduous, however, to commit to something that would rectify and minimize tragedy and evil. It demands us to keep things in order while not yielding to the temptation of tyranny. It calls us to confront chaos and its creative force, so that we may continually grow and create solutions as non-ending problems arise. It requires voluntary adoption of responsibility so that we may not degenerate to hell but move closer to heaven, even if the perfection of heaven is something that cannot be realistically achieved. It necessitates humility to forsake deceptive self-righteousness and start fixing things that lies in front and within us before criticizing the world and all its errors.
Meditate on these two fundamental questions, “what does it mean for me to make life better?” and “what am I willing to sacrifice to make that happen?” As you ask yourself, pay attention, the depth of your being will shout out answers that may be simple yet profound. Listen to it with all humility. Pray that what is presented will not be ignored nor neglected. For things that are avoided but needs the greatest of attention will become the source of your downfall. As you genuinely answer those questions, have the courage to follow through even in the smallest way you can. You have all your life to make things better or worse. Whatever path you choose, however, pain is present, and you must choose your pain. Strive to be perfect, just as God is perfect. But let not perfection be your highest value, for the fallibility and fragility of man might discourage you. Pursue then, every day, to rectify the endless problems of Being. Do that long enough until your prophecy and legacy will be fulfilled. And the richness of that goodness will forever live. That is immortality and a purpose worth living and dying for.
As you ask yourself, pay attention, the depth of your being will shout out answers that may be simple yet profound. Listen to it with all humility. Pray that what is presented will not be ignored nor neglected. For things that are avoided but needs the greatest of attention will become the source of your downfall.
