It’s what the philosopher Alan Watts referred to as the Backwards Law âŦī¸:
đ đđĄđ đĻđ¨đĢđ đ°đ đđĸđ đĄđ đđ¨đĢ đđ§ đ¨đŽđđđ¨đĻđ đđ¨ đĄđđŠđŠđđ§, đŠđđĢđđđ¨đąđĸđđđĨđĨđ˛ đđĄđ đĨđđŦđŦ đĨđĸđ¤đđĨđ˛ đ°đ đđĢđ đđ¨ đđđđđĸđ§ đĸđ. đ
Take the example of a person who falls into a lake and scrambles to reach the water’s surface. đĻ
The more they frantically fight to reach the surface, the more their body sinks underwater. đ
Did you ever notice that? đ
But when the person stops fighting, when they stop resisting…their body naturally floats up to the surface. No effort required! đ§
Or let me give another example: A person says “đ đ¸đĸđ¯đĩ đĩđ° đŖđĻ đŠđĸđąđąđē.” âšī¸
Sounds pretty reasonable, right? đ
But the problem is when you say this, you also implicitly say to yourself: “đ đĸđŽ đ¯đ°đĩ đŠđĸđąđąđē”, which in turn makes you EVEN LESS happy. đ˛
Unintentionally, you create an even greater distance from the surface of the water that you call happiness! đ¤¯
As Mark Manson puts it: “…đąđļđŗđ´đļđĒđ¯đ¨ đ´đ°đŽđĻđĩđŠđĒđ¯đ¨ đ°đ¯đđē đŗđĻđĒđ¯đ§đ°đŗđ¤đĻđ´ đĩđŠđĻ đ§đĸđ¤đĩ đĩđŠđĸđĩ đēđ°đļ đđĸđ¤đŦ đĒđĩ đĒđ¯ đĩđŠđĻ đ§đĒđŗđ´đĩ đąđđĸđ¤đĻ.” đŖī¸
It’s quite a paradox! đ
So, what does this Backwards Law mean for us?
đ That the more we desire to be rich the poorer we feel.
đ That the more we desire to be happy the sadder we feel.
đ That the more we desire things to go exactly the way we want them to go the more helpless we feel.
This means that even the most privileged of individuals in the world can still feel like victims. đ
This means that even in the best of circumstances a person can still feel it to be the end of the world. đ¨
đ đđĄđĸđŦ đĻđđđ§đŦ đđĄđđ đđ¯đđ§ đĸđ đ°đ đđĄđđ§đ đ đ¨đŽđĢ đđ§đ¯đĸđĢđ¨đ§đĻđđ§đ, đĸđ đđ¨đđŦđ§’đ đĻđđ¤đ đĻđŽđđĄ đđĸđđđđĢđđ§đđ đĸđ đ°đ’đĢđ đŦđđĸđĨđĨ đđđĢđĢđ˛đĸđ§đ đ đŦđđđĢđđĸđđ˛ đĻđĸđ§đđŦđđ. đ
Because wherever You go, there You are. đ
So, what’s the solution? đ¤
It’s one I’ve mentioned many times before, and it’s one I still have to remind myself of from time to time: Acceptance. â¤ī¸
Let go. Stop resisting. Give up the fight. đ
Because it’s only with more resisting that the problem you’re fighting will continue to persist. đ
In other words, stop trying to get it…and you’ll have it. đ
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