So, I’ve decided to move the Gratitude Chronicle to Saturdays.
Since I brought back the "Michael Moment," I
wanted to do this "Friday FaceTime" thing where I drop a video
update. It’s funny how I relegate things to specific days, but it actually got
me thinking about something Bhante Sujatha talked about in one of his Dharma
talks. I wanted to revisit that here.
I figured the Gratitude Chronicle would be a good way to
start your weekend—reading it in the morning to get some fresh perspective.
Maybe you can get something out of it.
The core of Bhante’s discussion was about how people live
for Fridays. They look forward to Friday because it’s the end of the week.
Maybe they had a shit week and just need to collapse. Friday—yay.
But if you really get into the nooks and crannies of it: are
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday actually better days than Monday through Thursday?
Think about it. You’re doing the same thing all seven days:
You’re living.
People say, "Oh, I’ll clean the house on the
weekend," or "I’ll pick up extra hours," or "I’ll finally
do something nice for myself on Saturday." Why can’t you do that on a
Tuesday? "I don’t have the time," you say.
Well, the beautiful thing about time is that you have full
control over how you spend it. Yes, we have to make money. Yes, we have bills.
But maybe you need a job that allows you to actually live. Finding a gig that
pays a million bucks is great, but what about finding one where you have
flexibility?
What really upsets people is feeling locked in. Feeling like
they’re stuck in a cage. All our lives, we’ve been told we need that 40-hour
week just to survive. It’s "the program," as my father used to call
it.
Well, I’m the type of person who says fuck the
program. And I say fuck that shit.
I’ve been in the rat race. I’ve worked for companies where
bosses—and people who just thought they were my bosses—told me
what to do. It was fucking annoying. I once took a job thinking I was going to
build something special, and the people running the place kicked everything
down before I could even start. I took those lessons and put them into the
companies I’m running now. And as you can guess, I ain’t doing too bad.
I truly believe self-employment and the gig economy are the
way to go—if you find a place that doesn't take advantage of you. Sometimes
it’s not money that makes you rich; it’s time. Having a say in how you spend
your time is the ultimate feeling.
So, just because it’s Saturday, does that make today
"better"? Sure, maybe you don't have to work, but you still have
problems. You still have issues to deal with. If the idea of "the
weekend" is comforting to you, keep it. I’m just giving you something to
think about.
At the end of the day, we have to do what makes us feel
right. We can’t worry about the day or the clock. We have to worry about how to
live our best life and what we need to do to get there. For me, it’s about
finding ways to take care of myself, spending time with people I love, and
walking a path where I give myself forgiveness for my past. I stay stable in
the present and I don't obsess over the future—I just try to build something
good enough for it.
I do that every single day. And that, my friends, is living.
