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Friday night philosophy

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:04:54 -0700

I use emotion for the many, and reserve reason for the few.

No, I’m no fan of Hitler’s, but there is no denying that his appeal to the emotions was effective in motivating one of the most civilised and cultured nations on Earth to the barbarity of war. To counter Hitler’s appeal to the emotions, this World War II video was produced. Just as relevant when listening to our own politicians today, I think.

Emotion v Reason

We use emotion to guide us in our youth. Maturity is the tempering of that emotion with reason. That is our awakening; we begin to start using reason. But if we don’t have the knowledge with which to reason, then we continue to trust emotion to be our guide. No wonder we stumble into so many pitfalls in our youth. But where do we look for this knowledge with which to reason? There’s just so much out there for us to wade through, assuming we know for what it is we are searching.

Not long before I left Snowy Mountains Authority, I was made aware of an article in the Readers Digest of a condensed book, “Lessons from History”, by Will and Ariel Durant. I was so impressed with the article that I bought the book from which it was condensed. It is available from here.

That little book finally filled in the missing pieces for me. It was itself condensed from a series of books, “The Story of Civilization”. Will Durant had also written books on philosophy, “The Story of Philosophy”, and ”The Pleasures of Philosophy”. He was not held in high regard by fellow historians in academia, mainly because he didn’t write for his peers. He wrote for working people, such as I, who were searching for knowledge written in a language they could understand. I’ll be forever grateful to him, as that little book was a turning point in my life. It was my starting point in my quest for knowledge. Not only were the big issues listed for me, but Will and Ariel Durant had given their thoughts as a launching pad for me as well.

In the introduction they had this to say:

Since man is a moment in astronomic time, a transient guest of the earth, a spore of his species, a scion of his race, a composite of body' character, and mind, a member of a family and a community, a believer or doubter of a faith, a unit in an economy, perhaps a citizen in a state or a soldier in an army, we may ask under the corresponding heads ---- astronomy, geology, geography, biology, ethnology, psychology, morality, religion, economics, politics, and war ---- what history has to say about the nature, conduct, and prospects of man.'

So, there they were. The issues into which I had to delve if I was to develop my philosophy of life. Apart from some schoolboy geography, I had precious little knowledge of any of them.

Some extracts from Lessons from History:

History and Earth:

Let us define history, in its troublesome duplexity, as the events or record of the past. Human history is a brief spot in space, and its first lesson is modesty. At any moment a comet may come too close to the earth and set our little globe turning topsy turvy in a hectic course, or choke its men and fleas with fumes or heat; or a fragment of the smiling sun may slip off tangentially --- as some think our planet did a few astronomic moments ago --- and fall upon us in a wild embrace ending all grief and pain.

History is subject to geology. Every day the sea encroaches somewhere upon the land, or the land upon the sea; cities disappear under the water, and sunken cathedrals ring their melancholy bells. Mountains rise and fall in the rhythm of emergence and erosion; rivers swell and flood, or dry up, or change their course; valleys become deserts, and isthmuses become straits. To the geologic eye all the surface of the earth is a fluid form, and man moves upon it as insecurely as Peter walking on the waves to Christ.

History and Biology.

The first biological lesson of history is that life is competition.

The second biological lesson of history is that life is selection.

The third biological lesson of history is that life must breed.

History and Race:

A knowledge of history may show us that civilization is a co-operative product, that nearly all peoples have contributed to it; it is our common heritage and debt; and the civilized soul will reveal itself in treating every man and woman, however lowly, as a representative of one of these creative and contributory groups.

Morals and History:

Moral codes differ because they adjust themselves to historical and environmental conditions, If we divide economic history into three stages --- hunting, agriculture, industry ---- we may expect that the moral code of one stage will be changed in the next. In the hunting stage a man had to be ready to chase and fight and kill. When he had caught his prey he ate to the cubic capacity of his stomach, being uncertain when he might eat again; insecurity is the mother of greed, as cruelty is the memory ---if only in the blood--- of a time when the test of survival (as now between states) was the ability to kill. Presumably the death rate in men---so often risking their lives in the hunt---was higher than in women; some men had to take several women, and every man was expected to help women to frequent pregnancy. Pugnacity, brutality, greed, and sexual readiness were advantages in the struggle for existence. Probably every vice was once a virtue --- i.e., a quality making for the survival of the individual, the family, or the group. Man’s sins may be the relics of his rise rather than the stigmata of his fall.

Religion

Even the sceptical historian develops a humble respect for religion, since he sees it functioning, and seemingly indispensable, in every land and age. To the unhappy, the suffering, the bereaved, the old, it has brought supernatural comforts valued by millions of souls as more precious than any natural aid.

Religion does not seem at first to have had any connection with morals. Apparently… it was fear that first made the gods --- fear of hidden forces in the earth, rivers, oceans, trees, winds, and sky. Religion became the proprietary worship of these forces through offerings, sacrifice, incantation, and prayer. Only when priests used these fears and rituals to support morality and law did religion become a force vital and rival of the state.

History has justified the Church in the belief that the masses of mankind desire a religion rich in miracle, mystery and myth. Some minor modifications have been allowed in ritual, and in ecclesiastical authority, but the church dares not alter doctrines that reason smiles at, for such changes would offend and disillusion the millions whose hopes have been tied to inspiring and consolatory imaginations.

The growing awareness of man’s minuscule place in the cosmos has furthered the impairment of religious belief. In Christendom we may date the beginning of the decline from Copernicus (1543). The process was slow, but by 1611 John Donne was mourning that the earth had become a mere “suburb” in the world, and that “new philosophy calls all into doubt”; and Francis Bacon, while tipping his hat occasionally to the bishops, was proclaiming science as the religion of the modern emancipated man. In that generation began the “death of God” as an external deity.
Economics
History, according to Karl Marx, is economics in action --- the contest, among individuals, groups, classes, and states, for food, fuel, materials, and economic power. Political forms, religious institutions, cultural creations, are all rooted in economic realities.. So the Industrial Revolution brought with it democracy, feminism, birth control, socialism, the decline of religion, the loosening of morals, the liberation of literature from dependence upon aristocratic patronage, the replacement of romanticism by realism in fiction ---- and the economic interpretation of history.
Bankers have sat in the councils of governments, financing wars and popes, and occasionally sparking a revolution. Perhaps it is one secret of their power that, having studied the fluctuations of prices, they know that history is inflationary, and that money is the last thing a wise man will hoard.
Socialism
Year by year the role of Western governments in the economy rises, the share of the private sector declines. Capitalism retains the stimulus of private property, free enterprise, and competition, and produces a rich supply of goods; high taxation, falling heavily on the upper classes, enables the government to provide for a self-limited population unprecedented services in education, health, and recreation. The fear of capitalism has compelled socialism to widen freedom, and the fear of socialism has compelled capitalism to increase equality.
Government
Democracy is the most difficult of all forms of Government, since it requires the widest spread of intelligence, and we forgot to make ourselves intelligent when we made ourselves sovereign. Education has spread, but intelligence is perpetually retarded by the fertility of the simple. A cynic once remarked that “you mustn’t enthrone ignorance just because there’s so much of it.” However, ignorance is not long enthroned, for it lends itself to manipulation by the forces that mould public opinion. It may be true, as Lincoln supposed, that “you can’t fool all the people all the time,” but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country.
War.
In every century the generals and the rulers have smiled at the philosophers’ timid dislike of war. In the military interpretation of history war is the final arbiter, and is accepted as natural and necessary by all but cowards and simpletons…. We laugh at generals who die in bed, but we build statues to them when they turn back a Hitler or Genghis Khan. It is pitiful says the general that so many young men die in battle, but more of them die in automobile accidents than in war, and many of them riot and rot for lack of discipline; they need an outlet for their combativeness, their adventurousness, their weariness for prosaic routine; if they must die sooner or later why not let them die for their country in the anaesthesia of battle and the aura of glory?
Even a philosopher, if he knows history, will admit that a long peace may fatally weaken the martial muscles of a nation. In the present inadequacy of international law and sentiment a nation must be allowed to use any means it considers necessary to its survival. The Ten Commandments must be silent when self-preservation is at stake.

It really doesn’t do justice to the work of Will and Ariel Durant for me to just post snippets from their book, but I hope there is enough there to whet the appetite of those who see the wisdom of their thoughts, and perhaps buy the book for themselves. No, I don't get a commission from Amazon...

The knowledge gleaned from that little book was to provide the foundation for my search for a consistent philosophy of life. I think I finally got there, but the search continues. I still sample new fruits, modify a few thoughts here and there, and muse about this fascinating journey we take.

Next week, I write about my political beliefs, and how I came to them. And maybe my thoughts on religion. You've been warned...

Last week

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Dennis Kucinich wakes up America.

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:58:09 -0700

Wake up America!

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ICH today

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:10:35 -0700

"Peace is rarely denied to the peaceful": Johann Von Schiller

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"An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry": T.s. Eliot

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"Men are at war with each other because each man is at war with himself": Francis Meehan

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Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy

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Happy Sally. My favourite Olympic moment.

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:58:33 -0700

I've never seen a post race interview like this one. Sally was not expected to finish in the medal count, but she got silver. Happy for you, Sally.

Happy Sally

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Joe Biden is Obama's running mate - Los Angeles Times

nobody@vox.com(paikea) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:46:16 -0700

Joe Biden is Obama's running mate - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/...

Joe Biden is Obama's running mate His abundant foreign policy experience is considered a boost to the Democratic ticket. By Stuart Silverstein and Johanna Neuman Los Angeles Times Staff Writers 12:48 AM PDT, August 23, 2008 CHICAGO — Barack Obama has tapped Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate, bringing to the Democratic ticket a veteran senator with deep expertise in international relations, the campaign announced around midnight Pacific time. The confirmation came hours after The Times and other news outlets reported that Biden was Obama's choice -- and after a full day of intense media speculation that included stakeouts at the homes of the top three contenders. The Obama campaign had hoped to keep the choice secret until the Illinois senator could notify his supporters via text message and e-mail, but got scooped. "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee," the text message said. "Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3 p.m. ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!" The website's language was slightly different: "Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the leaders who will bring the change our country needs. But they can't do it alone. Show your support for the Obama-Biden ticket by making a donation today." Late Friday, media reports had indicated that the other main candidates -- Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine -- were told they were out of the running, and attention turned to Biden, who remained secluded. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden could help offset Obama's relative inexperience in foreign policy. Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator, has been ridiculed by his Republican rival, John McCain, as too naive to be president. Two high-level Democratic operatives confirmed Biden's selection to The Times Friday night. Biden, 65, had emerged earlier this week as a top choice. The Times reported Wednesday that the Delaware senator had met repeatedly with campaign...

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Bush Plan Would Blunt State Birth Control Law - resulting in restricted access for 1,000's of women

nobody@vox.com(paikea) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:52:01 -0700

t r u t h o u t | Bush Plan Would Blunt State Birth Control Law

http://www.truthout.org/article/bush-...

Washington - A proposed Bush administration regulation on contraception and abortion would stop California from enforcing a state law that requires Catholic hospitals and charities to provide birth control coverage for thousands of female employees, state Attorney General Jerry Brown and family-planning advocates said Wednesday. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department regulation, still in draft form, would define abortion as including certain methods of contraception and would prohibit states and other recipients of federal funds from penalizing health care workers who refused to provide those services because of religious or moral beliefs. Violators would forfeit federal health care funds, which in California amount to as much as $37 billion a year. The draft regulation describes the problem as laws such as those in California and New York that require employers to include contraceptives in any prescription drug coverage they offer to employees. The federal agency had no comment Wednesday on the proposal. California's law was passed in 2000 in response to decisions by many health insurance plans to cover the male potency drug Viagra but continue to deny coverage for birth control pills, forcing women to pay for contraceptives. The state Supreme Court upheld the law in a 2004 ruling that applied to 1,600 employees of Catholic Charities and 52,000 employees of Catholic hospitals in the state. The law exempts church employees, but the court said affiliated agencies such as Catholic Charities are secular institutions because they employ and serve mostly non-Catholics. New York's highest court later issued a similar ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Catholic Charities' appeals in both cases. Similar laws exist in 25 other states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization. States Would Lose Authority Such laws would be unenforceable if the proposed ...

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as steven said, the US women's basketball team deserves to be bitch-slapped

nobody@vox.com(paikea) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:47:44 -0700

Americans who play for other teams are merely exercising their country's freedom - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-o...

Americans who play for other teams are merely exercising their country's freedom The U.S. women's basketball team wasn't happy that Becky Hammon opted to play for Russia. But it is her right. Bill Plaschke August 22, 2008 Beijing Who is the American? Is it the woman standing with head down and hand over heart during the national anthem? Or is it the women rocking and shuffling and squirming during the same anthem, clearly impatient for the darned song to end? The respectful woman was wearing a Russian uniform. The distracted women were wearing U.S. uniforms. Who is the American? The debate raged Thursday in a glittering basketball arena that felt like a small-town courthouse, two sides arguing a single point with passion, prejudice, and more than a little ugliness. On one side was the U.S. women's basketball team. On the other side was Russian guard Becky Hammon. Officially, it was the clearly defined Olympic semifinals, but at stake was that elusive thing known as patriotism. Hammon is a heartland kid born in South Dakota, schooled at Colorado State, a WNBA star who joined the Russian national team after signing a Russian club team contract worth about $2 million. Many members of the U.S. team think this qualified her as a traitor. Hammon said she jumped countries because she wasn't on the original list of women invited to try out for the American team. Most of the American players think she jumped for the money. The controversy spun for several weeks this summer, with U.S. Coach Anne Donovan even saying, "If you play in this country and you grow up in this country and you put on a Russian uniform, you are not being patriotic." Donovan later softened her stance. But then the two teams met Thursday at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, and there was nothing soft about it. Hard picks, hard shoves, hard elbows, oppressively hard defense by a U.S. team intent on making Hammon pay. Lisa Leslie admitted th...

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Well, we've been here in Switzerland for just two weeks...

nobody@vox.com(paikea) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:02:42 -0700

about 50 weeks more to go:)

When I get my act together, I'll start taking pictures, and post them throughout this year.

Moving here seems to have been more or less painless. When we first got here, we stayed in a hotel by the Uni where Steven is teaching, and now we're in a teeny studio in Zürich - really close to the Hauptbanhof (the central train/bus station) and the to rest of the central city. We're in the process of finding an apartment - preferably one with two bedrooms - so Steven and I don't drive each other nuts. We've been in 3-bedroom houses for the last 6 years - that's a lot of space for two people:) Trust me, we need it!

As you can see from the pic above, Zürich is an absolutely gorgeous city. It is very walkable and the public transportation is very convenient and runs absolutely on time. We have been spending these first few weeks just wandering all over town, trying to figure out where it is that we want to live. In Wellington, we lived on the south coast in a suburb - we had a car, and we like living quietly. For this year, we don't have a car, and we'd like to take advantage of living in a city again, especially since there are many shops, cafes, and restaurants to explore, not to mention just hanging out eating lunch at places like the bridges in the pic and just simply walking the paths along the canals. So, we're trying to find a place that's is in a relatively quiet spot, yet with the option of leisurely walking into downtown or taking a quick tram/bus ride. We're making some headway! We have till October to find a place, and so of course we will!

As far as the language goes, Swiss German is very different than German. I'm having trouble understanding it. It sounds like a mush of Finnish/German/French. I've learned a few things here and there to say in Swiss-German, though - like thank you and things. However, I'm slowly learning German with the help of some online interactive sites (they are amazing), the intensive language Cds, and some really cool phrase and picture books we found in the English language bookstore here. Of course, there are times where even the little German I have, fails me. Like when I was buying shoes, and it took about a minutes for the clerk to communicate to me that she had to see the back of my credit card to check my signature. I felt really silly.

Not language-related, but culture-related...We went to eat at this Swiss/Italian place, and as usual (because I'm supposed to eat small meals because of my stomach), I wanted to take the rest of my delicious gnocchi home. Instead, our table got a lecture which had something to do with Nazism, Socialism, Italy (this was a "Socialist Italian" restaurant), and dogs. And how Nazis were dogs. And how only dogs eat left-overs. So, real people don't "do" left-overs/take-aways. I'm still not sure whether I was supposed to be insulted or not. Then, the waiter, who was really strange, said he would "find a way" - like it was some big mission to put my few bits of gnocchi in some tin foil. I was just like - I just want my damn gnocchi. It was good, and I don't want to waste it. Of course, I didn't say so. And no, I never did get it! See, weird things already have happened!

On Saturday, however, we are taking our first little trip. We are going take the train to Italy (Venice - about 6 hours - we've been to Venice before - smelly, but really pretty:), spend a night in Venice with a friend - and then rent a car and drive to Slovenia, where Steven has a conference. Let me see if I can find a map...cool - well - here - down below.

You can see Switzerland in pink in the top left hand corner. Zürich is off the map, in the north. Taking the train south, through Italy to Venice, which is on the Gulf of Venice (on this map, it is spelled, Venece). Then renting the care and driving over the top of the gulf into the green of Slovenia. Now you see, some of the orange of Italy leaks into Slovenia. We drive through it to Trieste and along the water into that greeny bit of Slovenia along the Gulf of Venice. In about 2-3 hours, we will be in this place called Portorož (litereally, Port of Roses), for the conference - a fine resort right on the water. We've been there before - about seven or eight years ago - for another one of Steven's conferences. If you want to see pale, Eastern European men in speedos, this is the place to go - LOL! The water is also pristine and warm. I swam every day last time. It's going to be hot this time as well. I plan to eat lots of gelato! And then, we're probably going to wander inland a bit to one of my favorite places called, Bohinj - it is by a beautiful lake, and then drive to the capital of Ljubljana, which is supposed to be very modern, chichi and nice. Of course, the Bohinj and Ljubljana bit are subject to change - one of the beauties of doing a road trip, but we'll just be dumping them in favor of staying along the water in order to hang out on some more beaches! Regardless, after 5 days of wandering after the conference, we're going to head back to Venice, stay a couple of nights and then take the train back to Zürich. We'll be gone for about 9 days. I'm kind of excited. Of course, I am going to have to keep Steven from veering off to the left-hand side of the road - lol! - both of us have gotten used to it, driving in NZ. Now, we're back on the right-hand side, it's going to be interesting! Guess I'm not taking any naps:)

I'll catch you guys when we get back:)

I haven't gotten that much of a chance to peruse all of your blogs as of late. I will. I've been trying to post stuff myself, but will get back to my normal, slightly longer rants and other musings eventually. And, among those will be some accounts of random things and travels here this year:)

I figured I'd better get this one off before we took our first official road trip in Europe (the first time we're driving ourselves to places)!

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In Texas, it's beginning - teachers carry concealed weapons. Where next? In your kid's school?

nobody@vox.com(paikea) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:17:25 -0700

t r u t h o u t | The American School Where Teachers Carry a Pen, a Ruler and ... a Gun

http://www.truthout.org/article/the-a...

When teachers return for a new school term in the tiny Texas farming town of Harrold, they can bring a extra tool of the trade alongside books, pens and worksheets. To defend pupils from any gun-toting maniacs, they can carry loaded pistols into the classroom. With barely 300 residents, the remote rural community in the state's northern dustbowl has appalled gun control advocates by becoming the first in the US to allow its teachers to bear concealed firearms. Harrold's school board maintains that the move is necessary because the town is 25 miles from the nearest sheriff's office, making it hard to get swift help in an emergency. Its location just yards from a major highway, America's north-south interstate 287, makes it a potential "target" for armed maniacs. "We are 30 minutes from law enforcement," Harrold's school superintendent, David Thweatt, told the Guardian. "How long do you think it would take to kill all 150 of us? It would be a bloodbath." Carefully selected teachers are to be trained in crisis management including handling hostage situations. Thweatt said: "When you have good guys with guns, the bad guys do less damage." More than a dozen mass shooting tragedies have hit US educational establishments over a decade, including the Columbine massacre which claimed 15 lives at a Colorado high school in 1999 and last year's Virginia Tech massacre which left 33 people dead. When pressed on such cases, the powerful pro-gun lobby often argues that Congress sent out a message of vulnerability in a 1990 law which banned guns in schools - although the law was declared unconstitutional and overturned by the Supreme Court five years later. "We've had a very disturbing trend of school shootings in the US," said Thweatt. "It is my belief this is caused by making schools gun-free zones. When schools were made gun-free zones, they became targets for people who wanted to rack up the body count." As is commonp...

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Friday night philosophy...on Thursday night.

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:33:44 -0700

Last week.

I'm told that it should be safe to venture into Brisbane as it will be flamingo free zone as from tomorrow, so I'll be going there for the weekend. Which is why FNP is early this week.

Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau

Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in 1961 while serving as Secretary General of the United Nations. After his death, a little book entitled “Markings” was published. It contains jottings of his spiritual insights throughout this life. What follows is my markings. They are not so much spiritual, as practical markings that I have stumbled upon, and subsequently followed throughout my life. They are not the markings of one who received a university education, but those of a tradesman, written in the language of a tradesman. For that is what I am, a tradesman, although I use the term to define my background rather than with any class connotations. I’m not sure what does define me. I’m just me. That's enough.

I sometimes wish that I had received an education in philosophy, political science, and science, but I didn’t, and I do not waste time on regrets. It has been my experience that life is a series of swings and roundabouts. What sometimes appears to have been a disadvantage in life may just have led to an unappreciated advantage. Not all wisdom is to be had by the academics. And skill in using one’s hands leads to a different kind of wisdom. After all, without those who possess those skills, the philosophers would starve.

We have no choice when we come into this world. We are subject to our genetic inheritance and our environmental nurturing….or lack of. So, we are guided by our parents, or guardian, as to what they think is a desirable life. We are taught the basic survival skills and spiritual needs according to our parents’ beliefs. And this serves to get us by during childhood and early adolescence. But then it all goes pear shaped as we find all our childhood fantasies crumbling under the onslaught of a cold, hard, reality we never knew was there. Then, if we are to survive, we need to at last think for ourselves. Or in the vernacular, we need to “get a life’. Virginia Marie Swift (copyright 2001) puts it far more eloquently than I ever could with her insightful words:

The Awakening

“A time comes in your life when you finally get it...when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out...ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon. You realize that in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you... and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions. You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself... and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you - or didn't do for you - and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and that everything isn't always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself... and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties... and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with.

You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop manoeuvring through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.

You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don't know everything, it's not your job to save the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely. You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drink more water, and take more time to exercise. You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play. You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you believe you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it's OK to risk asking for help. You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people... and you learn not to always take it personally. You learn that nobody's punishing you and everything isn't always somebody's fault. It's just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than your heart's desire. You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best you can.”

So, having finally awoken, we'd better start looking at that world through new eyes.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." ~Henry David Thoreau

“To die, and to discover that I had not lived”. What do we mean by “lived”? For the answer to that, I think we have to turn to Maslow’s needs heirarchy.

Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

I see the base needs as those necessary to “exist”, and there’s quite enough there to occupy us for most of our lives. But to “live” we need to look to the higher needs. And some are driven to a higher need still, that of “self actualisation”. That is when we feel that we are doing what we were meant to do in this life. I think we all know when we reach this plane. Or rather “feel” it. It is when we are totally absorbed in what we are doing, to the exclusion of cares regarding satisfying the lower needs. But before we look toward the “why” of this life, we need to acquire knowledge of the ”how”. And for this, my palm goes to Max Erhmann’s lovely “Desiderata”. His words show us how to live this life in harmony with one another, and with the universe. They follow:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be
greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career
however humble;
it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you
to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit
to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham,
drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann
©1927 (renewed) Bell & Son Publishing, LLC
Reprinted with permission.

Just beautiful, isn’t it. ‘Til next week.

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