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Comanche “T’suh!”, The 5 Deathbed Regrets, & Spinnin’ Tires by Mark Hatmaker

 

Two Gas-Soaked Men Post Demolition Derby: T'SUH!!

[An addendum to The Suakhet'u Program. To learn how to engage in this practice see here.]

First, to Answer the Question: “Mark, what exactly is, T’suh!?

T’suh! Is a Comanche Warrior word/concept that broadly means, “Ready!”

Second Question: “Mark, why do I always see you hit it with an exclamation mark?”

Well, my kind interrogator, that is because the word is always meant to be emphatic. Shouted if the environment and circumstances permit and always accompanied by a gesture. An emphatic use of the body that marries the physical with the word with the cognitive intention.

Such tripling of language [word/intention/action] is common in indigenous thought. It was thought to better prime the organism for action and not merely be more drippings of unfulfilled words from mendacious mouths.

I have found my own adoption of this language tripling mighty vivifying.

T’suh! is not merely a stand-in for our version of the word “ready.” T’suh! implies an attitude of “Next!” or “Let’s see what’s over that hill?” or “Here is good, but I will endeavor to make my next step better.”

Downstream living [Note the lower-case “l”]

The opposite of the Comanche “T’suh!” is to be called “tinawa,” which literally translates to “people who stay downstream.”

It can refer to those who literally stay in base camp, but conceptually, it is more “He never tries to see around the next bend” or “She always waits to find out; but finding out, is out there—not here.”

On the surface that may sound esoteric, but your own personal experience can verify this easily.

It is the difference between imagining the sexual act, or reading about the sexual act, or viewing the sexual act on screens but never actually having the full-bore immersive five sense experience of what is being discussed.

All may know what the other is talking about, all may be camped on some portion of the river, but downstream will never know what the upstream experience is.

Upstream is where it’s at—if you’re doin’ it right.

Descriptors are stand-ins that never stand on their own.

Once Upon a Time…

A Warrior’s “T’suh” is never resting on laurels.

“I used to…”

Or,

“One time I…”

In “T’suh!” thought these statements are equivalent to saying “I used to be interesting, inquisitive and adventurous but no more.”

“I used to be..” was considered a shameful utterance to a warrior. It is what you are now, and what your “T’suh!” is to be in the next second, next minute, next step that carried the totality of the Warrior’s presence.

Not a memory or husk of former lived experience.

We find this echoed in psychological Flow Theory,

“I shall be more than what I am; the self is never complete and finished, it is what I will do in the Future that determines who I am.”--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, The Evolving Self



Often, Warriors or potential Warriors are distracted from embracing “T’suh!” by concerns that will slough off at the end of life---when it is often far far too late to make best use of potential.

The end of life is often a poor time to learn how to begin living.

Killing Regrets

Bronnie Ware, spent time in palliative care, that is, hospice care, caring for folks who are at the end of their lives. In learning from her “end of life” patients she authored the book, Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.



The book is worth a read, but in precis the enumerated five can go a long way towards making Now! And this Now! And the next Now! Vital.

Regret 1: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Regret 2: “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

[Read that as, “Worked so hard for the ambitions of others, not for my own self or family.” I am continually shocked at how hard many “work” for the agendas and ambitions of political parties or sports teams comprised of members who couldn’t pick us out of a line-up of two, but postpone their very own ambitions to an unpromised future.]

Regret 3: “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

[Read that, “Live out loud! Love out loud!” T’suh! Warriors are Open-Hearted Warriors.]

Regret 4: “I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends.”

[Many use the false friendship of screens, or the lulling laziness of the binge-queue to suffice for true interaction. “No, not this time, hit me again next time” is far easier than “T’suh!” but nobody wishes for asses on couch, screen before eyes at the end. I love Sebastian Junger’s phrase for choosing toys over people, “We have bonded with our stuffed animals.”]

Regret 5: “I wish I’d let myself be happier.”

If we are wise we use the regrets of Warriors-of Lost-Potential to be tinder for our own T’suh! Fire.

“Don’t Stop Ya Gotta Keep Movin’”

The lyric from The Dub Pistols “Keep Moving” is a “T’suh!” anthem.

Rollin’ with punches is “T’suh!”

Spinning tires to keep revs up and eat the impact is “T’suh!”

[See the podcast for the explanation of this apt metaphor.]

What’s next is “T’suh!”

Whether that next be the next adventure lived, the next project competed, the next foolish scheme embarked, the next hug distributed, the next act of kindness sown.

Warriors live Now because regrets will come far too soon.

So, you wanna be T’suh! Or tinawa?

I wager if you’ve read this far, T’suh! Is for you.

[For more on living T'suh! See The Suakhet'u Program.]

For more on Black Box Training Resources

https://www.extremeselfprotection.com/

For a podcast on such matters.

https://anchor.fm/mark-hatmaker

Or, for the true T’suh! Warriors READY TO GO! consider The Black Box Subscription Program.


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