January 10, 2012 at 3:56 pm
On a personal level, I'll be turning 60 this year and I've already lost many more of my peers to death and disability than I expected to at this point.
I'm not trying to be depressing here but I feel compelled to adjust my outlook knowing that I can't expect the world to change, just the way I choose to see it.
We pretty much choose to either ignore life's inevitabilities as long as we can (many do this by working almost all the time) or develop philosophies to help us deal with these changes.
I'm interested in hearing about the philosophies that you have to help you enjoy life and still accept its unavoidable outcomes. What works for you?
January 12, 2012 at 6:53 am
Thunderous silence... 🙂
This forum clearly wasn't the place to attempt to initiate this kind of philosophical discussion. My bad.
January 12, 2012 at 1:57 pm
My mind has wandered to such thoughts lately. I have noticed that I am becoming more focused, more driven to do and achieve things - not necessarily career-wise, just generally. I have always worked hard, but in my younger days I didn't do much else - I was lazy outside of work, there always seemed to be so much time and no hurry.
At 45 I am a lot more driven to do/learn/discover new things - due, at least in part, to a growing realisation that the sand is in fact running through the hourglass. If only the energy of our youth could meet the wisdom of old age.
Alas, my younger self knew so much - the older I get, the more I understand how little I know, and how much there is still to learn.
Chris
January 12, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Since my late teens and up until now I was always able to articulate a simple core philosophy that I could live by but those didn’t include my mortality (probably because I was young enough to ignore it).
While I can’t see myself ever becoming a religious person (“nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong” to quote Buffalo Springfield), I am always trying to work on my spiritual side and that helps a lot but the ability to “have faith” just isn’t there. I have to base my spiritual ideas on things I know to be true. For example, “We’re all part of the same thing”, that being the universe.
I just need to develop a philosophy for the approaching endgame that still allows for the occasional belly laugh.
January 12, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I remember growing up thinking how advances in the sciences, arts and humanities and intellectualism in general would lead to a sort of human nirvana, when the worlds problems would increasingly yield to solutions and an ever expanding generousity of human spirit and cooperation.
Boy do I feel dumb now! LOLOL
January 12, 2012 at 3:50 pm
The trilogy of religion, faith and spirituality can keep the mind occupied endlessly.
I see religion as an attempt to impose our beliefs on others, biased by personal opinions and corrupted by the individuals desire for power - religion holds no attraction for me.
Faith, on the other hand, is a personal thing - religion without the rules. We all have beliefs of one kind or another, whether we condider ourselves religious or not. I believe in evolution and science, but I see it as a form of faith, since science provides no more certainty than religious faith (I read somewhere that scientific theories can never be proven, only disproven). Much of what we once believed "scientifically" has since been disproved or replaced with new theories - what science believes now will change in the future. Faith is fine, as long as we remain open to challenging them, and changing them.
Spirituality is independent of faith - it is simply who we are, how we see ourselves, how we fit into the world (or universe) around us, how we treat others and our environment. Faith relates to "knowing" (or our lack of knowing) while spirituality relates to "being".
Our mortality has never concerned me, though I'm in no hurry to get there. What comes after? Maybe nothing at all, I have no idea. But I have faith the universe will always be there, and spiritually, I'm fine with that.
Chris
January 12, 2012 at 4:04 pm
patrickmcginnis59 (1/12/2012)
I remember growing up thinking how advances in the sciences, arts and humanities and intellectualism in general would lead to a sort of human nirvana, when the worlds problems would increasingly yield to solutions and an ever expanding generousity of human spirit and cooperation.
Ah, yes, youthful idealism 🙂 Unfortunately, as long as we are subject to negative emotions (greed, jealousy, fear, loathing, etc.) we are stuck with the world we live in. Heaven and hell exist on earth - we create them ourselves.
Chris
January 12, 2012 at 4:18 pm
patrickmcginnis59 (1/12/2012)
I remember growing up thinking how advances in the sciences, arts and humanities and intellectualism in general would lead to a sort of human nirvana, when the worlds problems would increasingly yield to solutions and an ever expanding generousity of human spirit and cooperation.Boy do I feel dumb now! LOLOL
That sounds like me in my youth; I majored in philosophy and psychology. But the answers aren't easy and even when they're attainable, they're not always kind.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. - Stephen Hawking
January 13, 2012 at 8:53 am
One of my heroes is Joseph Campbell and he basically says that each of us has to decide whether or not to say "yes" to life. That would include saying yes to the things we consider bad or evil because on at least some level each of us participates in acts that others would view as bad or evil. I think his point is that we as individuals need to say yes to life as a WHOLE (the good and the bad) and you can do that because it is truly wonderful and incredible, even with the bad in it.
It's just that it is sad sometimes...
(maybe I just answered my own thread)
January 13, 2012 at 9:39 am
Personally I thing that life doesn't ends with the dead, life could ends before if you don't find nothing to keep on living.
Do you have heard about Ernestine Shepherd? At age of 75 she's amazing, and a big inspiration for many people. I've learned from her that never is too late to start something, and that the limits are only in our mind.
I have also had losses, but I think that the best way to honor his memory is enjoying life. Run, jump, play, sing, travel, eat, share, remove bad habits, recover good habits, be honorable, do things that make you feel proud of yourself.
January 13, 2012 at 9:54 am
jshahan (1/12/2012)
Thunderous silence... 🙂This forum clearly wasn't the place to attempt to initiate this kind of philosophical discussion. My bad.
Sorry, I looked in on your post a couple of times and almost wrote something once but felt I'm way too young to participate in the discussion. At 26 (fine, 27 in just under two weeks) years old, I've only really just begun my career.
January 13, 2012 at 5:17 pm
At 45 this year, what's different? I see very little black and white, and lots of gray.
Even in areas I have strong opinions, I realize that they are strong in ways, but flawed in others.
January 20, 2012 at 7:23 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (1/13/2012)
At 45 this year, what's different? I see very little black and white, and lots of gray.Even in areas I have strong opinions, I realize that they are strong in ways, but flawed in others.
51 this year - know exactly what you mean.
Never stop learning, never stop thinking, never be afraid to say "I was wrong"
-------------------------------Posting Data Etiquette - Jeff Moden [/url]Smart way to ask a question
There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand (the world). There is no such thing as a dumb question. ― Carl Sagan
I would never join a club that would allow me as a member - Groucho Marx
January 20, 2012 at 9:03 am
I think that giving life meaning is the key here. I went to a man’s funeral once, and the primary summary of his entire life was simply, “He liked to work with his hands.” So the older I get, the more I am concerned with the question “What do you want to be remembered for?” He came, he saw, he partied? He was a workaholic who made a lot of money? It may be a hard question, but worthwhile to consider.
Speaking of meaning, I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to a theory of life’s meaning that is rooted in action – a philosophy rooted in action. What is meaningful to you? Well, what do you spend your free time doing? Whatever that is, gives your existence purpose. Now I’m not talking just about time off from working; we have to do all kinds of tasks just to live and keep us happy. If you spend a certain amount of time, say, playing video games or having a beer or twelve on Friday night, to an extent that’s just human maintenance. We all have to have stress relief, so this idea is not as strict as it may sound at first. But be aware of this: we are responsible not just for what we do, but what we choose not to do. (This is an idea Sartre stressed.) For instance, if all you do is work on machines all of your life and don’t build meaningful relationships with people, that is your choice. But you are just as responsible for that exclusion. Now this doesn’t imply that you need to spend all of your free time working for charity – it is designed to make you think, but based on action. What is meaningful to you will not be meaningful to everyone, and that is as it should be – we’re all different. But what we do with our free time is what we’re judged by in the end.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. - Stephen Hawking
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