#72 - Celebrating Wisdom: Embracing Joy and Independence with Kierkegaard and Thoreau

Embark on a journey with me, Gus Holland, where the simplicity of joyous living meets the intricacy of thought. This episode is a celebration, not just of my birthday but of the profound wisdom found within Soren Kierkegaard's musings and Henry David Thoreau's 'Walden'. Engaging with life's experiences rather than puzzling over them is a theme we unravel, and I invite you to lighten the load of your weeks by perceiving life through this enlivening lens. 'Walden' may challenge you with its dense prose, yet it's a treasure map to a world where nature and self-reliance guide us to personal discovery and independence—themes that are as significant now as they were in 1854.

I'm cutting to the chase in this short and sweet session, sharing resources to quench your intellectual thirst. For the bookworms, I touch upon apps like Libby and LibriVox, where a plethora of literary classics await your exploration—at no cost. And for the fitness enthusiasts among us, I drop a hint about some upcoming free workout plans designed to invigorate your physical regimen. As always, your support is invaluable; if these words resonate, pass them along to friends who might also appreciate a weekly dose of motivation. Until next time, keep striving, keep thriving, and thank you for joining me on the Way of Life.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Way of Life. I'm your host, gus Holland. Today is going to be a quick little motivational episode to start Gels' week off, hopefully in the right direction. Soren Kierkegaard once said that life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. Although that's not the only philosophy I think you should go by, I think that is a wonderful way to start this week. I say to not take yourself or your situation too seriously this week and, whether you're inside or outside of the gym, to remember to have fun and enjoy the moments of life that you have.

Speaker 1: 0:39

An excellent book that covers that same topic is Walden by Henry David Theroux. That book it is older and I believe it's in the public domain, so you can find it for free in several spots. You might even be able to find an audio book on YouTube or something for free, but it is a little bit more of a difficult read. It has a very descriptive language, long sentences, long paragraphs. So just keep that in mind and it was written in a different time, but it does kind of cover that same topic. As a quote, the description of the book is that the text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire and, to some degree, a manual for self-reliance. It was written in 1854 and is technically under the memoir genre, but that does kind of it's kind of in the same realm as that quote and it'd be something cool to look into. Other than that, for motivational stuff, there's always the gem playlist that the podcast puts out. Currently have a rap and a rock slash metal one. Those are both going to be in the description below.

Speaker 1: 2:03

Also, in regards to, I know lots of times on these motivational episodes I list books that you can look into, read, and normally they are in the public domain, which means that they're old enough to, most of the time, be found free somewhere. So two different apps are Libby L-I-B-B-Y, and that is actually linked to whichever local library that you can have a membership at and that's free as long as you have a library card, and normally a library card is free or only a few dollars. The other one is LibriVox L-I-B-R-I-V-O-X, excuse me, and that's an app that I don't think you even need an account for really and that has a lot of free stuff, mostly in the public domain. Some of it is newer stuff that's submitted by the authors, but that is an excellent source to read classic literature, philosophical texts, scientific works and even fantasy slash fiction from longer ago. I am sorry that this is a shorter episode.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Yesterday was my birthday and obviously I was celebrating, but I want to really wish y'all an excellent week. If you've stuck around this far, I want to tell everyone that Wednesday, march 27th, I'll be announcing a way to get some free programming free, not actual personal training, but some free workout plans. So, whether you're new to working out or just looking for a different program to try out, I will be announcing on Wednesday exactly how to get a free program from me. As always, if you enjoyed the episode, feel free to share it with a friend. That is the number one thing that helps the podcast grow and I greatly appreciate everybody's support support thus far. You can check out wayoflifepodcastcom. That's where the blog, all of the merch and all of the different areas that you can listen or watch the podcast. Everything's linked there. Other than that, have an excellent weekend. Thank you all so much for the support and I'll be talking to y'all soon. Bye.