The Finish Line

As soon as you concretely identify the finish line you are seeking, you begin to tire, until the last stages of the race, as your mind increasingly anticipates that approaching line, come to define exhaustion itself. For upon telling yourself, “I only need to make it to that point,” the soul immediately calculates how much of its energy will be needed to travel just that far, effectively restricting you to the required allotment. The well-defined and identified end point is the soul’s way of shielding herself against the fear of failure by artificially limiting her intentions; and this arbitrary self-constraint seems to artificially restrict access to available resources.

By contrast, a life lived without a defined finish line will feel almost inexhaustible — assuming it is lived with a sense of direction. There is a vast difference between living without knowing when one’s purpose will be fulfilled, and living without purpose, i.e., randomly. Random life is even more exhausting than life with a visible end point, for the awareness of aimlessness leaves one in the emotional condition of a person lost in the forest and unsure which direction will lead back to the road. The feeling of futility drains the soul of her vital energy more quickly and completely than anything else.


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