The Only Jordan Peterson Quote that Matters.
I like Dr. Peterson. He is a person that creates strong emotions in others due to his political leanings, but I like him. He is decisive. His clinical practice must have been a mix of cutthroat get to the bottom of the issues and high levels of emotional processing. He is an intelligent individual who sees the world as it is, not as he wants it to be.
That is the crux of the issue. Being human, we want to see the world through our limited perspective. That means that we see the world as we want it to be. And that… is unfortunate. It means that we miss out on the things that matter. We miss out on the simple joys of being human. We miss out on the greatest experience we will ever enjoy. The simple experience of living.
As I said, I like Jordan Peterson. I like his quick wit. I like his cutthroat way of dismantling arguments to their bare bones. He does it by applying facts to fantasy. Facts are unkind things, but when you learn to accept the world as it is, they are not impossible things. They bring clarity and drive.
Not unlike caffeine.
The sky is blue. We can argue the shade but the sky is blue. I can work with that. I can live in a world where the sky is blue and mold my existence around that fact. Knowing that as a fact, I can accommodate it into my way of thinking. It is clear that the sky is blue. I may hate it, but I can learn to live my life in a way that isn’t as diminished by accepting that fact.
That gives me power. When I accept that the sky is blue, I have the power to mold my life around it. I can’t change it, but I can change how much it impacts me.
The Quote
I remember the first time I heard that. I remember thinking that that is the most pessimistic view I have ever heard, and it was from a psychologist!
He should know better.
I missed the point.
Life is suffering. That is a fact. My perspective that life is happiness with occasional suffering wasn’t true, and it created more suffering to look at it that way.
If you are feeling the same way I did when I first heard that, it is understandable. It sounds very pessimistic and depressing. But, that is missing the point.
Life isn’t occasional points of lows with consistent highs. It is a constant struggle.
Don’t believe me?
Was it fun to go to work this morning?
Why did you need coffee in the first place?
The Turn
Life is suffering. Pessimism quantified. Except that it is not.
Life. Is. Suffering. And… that is ok. I accept that and restructure my own perspective around it.
Life is suffering. Seeing my Mother this week was a blessing.
Life is suffering. Making dinner for my family was a blessing.
Life is suffering. Getting to work without an accident was a blessing.
Life. Is. Suffering. Optimism identified. The beauty of the human experience is observed.
The Finale
Dr. Peterson is right. Life is suffering. It is hard to be human, and that is a fact. But if that is all I see, I am missing the point. Life is suffering, but also incredible happiness. By altering my perspective to view life as suffering, I can experience every bit of positivity there is. My highs become higher, and my lows become accepted norms. The suffering is there but it does not define me. The highs of life do.
And that means, Life is not suffering.
