The Comfortable Life is Killing You

Society tames the wolf into a dog.
And man is the most domesticated
animal of all.

~ Nietzsche

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Despite existing in an era with the highest living standards in the history of mankind, despite having easy access to most of our material needs, recent polls have revealed that we modern people are miserable, angry, fearful, depressed, and riddled with anxiety. More so than ever before.

Depression rates have been steadily rising in the US since the mid-1930s. Approximately 40 million American adults are said to have an anxiety disorder. Depression and suicide rates, especially among teens, has risen drastically with the rise of social media and smartphones. Over six hundred thousand children 5 and under are on some type of psychiatric drug in the US. And opioid overdoses among American adults are out of control.

The question must be asked: Why?

Prove You’re Alive

I do a lot of solo traveling during my time off from work. When you travel by yourself and you’re able to forgo certain comforts & luxuries of modern day life, you can travel very inexpensively.

Everyone should do it every now and then. It’s healthy, revitalizing, and you feel this deep sense of freedom like no other. I think it’s the best type of therapy in a world gone mad.

Anyways, for me, I like to fill up a backpack once in a while, grab my camera, buy a plane ticket, and just go. I like facing the unknown. This is how I beat death in life.

“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me.”

“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need.’ It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength is there. Any disaster that you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow. 

“Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”

~Joseph Campbell