Monday, March 19, 2012

Philosophy of Life

On the idea of how I view my life and the world I live in commonly refereed to as a "life philosophy" I don't have any particular quotes or ideals I follow. I do take a lot from the Buddhists though on happiness in wanting what you have and not what you don't. Though I fall through in that because I have so few possessions my love for each one is strong and losing those items any or all of them would have an impact on me to say then that my possessions possess me is not a stretch. The idea is to control or own your property and not let it control you and in that regard I do somewhat fail. I do try to live each day and learn something about myself and reflect on what I already know instead of trying to learn something new. This way I become a master of things instead of a jack of all trades. Self reflection has taught me a lot actually. It can't be said that I'm learning new material though because if you know the variables and have an expected outcome of adding them together then the result isn't anything new it's more a reaffirmation of your understanding of existing material.

If this is something you'd like to try you don't have to spend a long time doing it. Consider a topic you'd like to understand better, grab a large apple and think about it. By the time I've consumed my apple I tend to have either moved to a new topic or reached a greater understanding. For something requiring more time and though for complex ideas I have a marble "thinking ball" which has no special properties it's just something to toss around while I think and if you engage yourself physically while thinking on something your ability to remember goes up dramatically. This acts as a kind of focus while some small part of my mind is coordinating my movements the rest of my mind completely focuses on the thought drowning out distractions.

What sort of philosophy do you follow? Do you live by any rules, laws, or quotes?

5 comments:

  1. I always reflect on myself, usually before falling asleep. I do like the whole "the things you own end up owning you" idea. I don't have cable and try to have as many human interactions as possible because I tend to be a recluse. I always have a project going no matter what. I get into something and become all absorbed in it. Just today I dug out my camel bak and found a bunch of old western belt buckles my Grampa gave me. Made me think of my upbringing and all of the people that helped form what I am today. I believe heavily in Karma and that if you were dealt a bad hand that it should give you a one up on the average person in that you know you have the strength to get through a lot. I was a foster kid so I enjoy the privaledge of having a lot of people care for me, biological or not. I lived with my best friend for a while so his family is my family and we are close. I don't think blood has much to do with the person you are besides the genes you were created with and if you claim to just be a 'product of your upbringing' then you are a weak person.

    Sorry about the rant.

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    1. Also, I try my hardest to not think of past hardships unless a good lesson was taught from it. Instead I constantly think of my [and my families] future.

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  2. There is one, recent quote I really liked, and trying to live by.
    "The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation."
    Neil deGrasse Tyson

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    1. I like that quote a lot... for some reason it reminds me of the count of monte cristo.

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  3. I thinking is usually by the "what made you great?" pile. Like I'm at a point where if I'm at a terrible situation then I think about I made myself better before all this. Whether it was my perseverance, initiative, my gut feeling or something else then I try to imitate that to not get stuck in a rut again. The last 2 years have been agonising for me at the least, I've had more bad times than good but still wonder how I managed to get past them.

    Another is that when a bad situation arises I think of it as the "randomness of the universe". What the universe does IMO is just passive and there's nothing I can do about it.

    I would say a lot more but I feel that writing here is a bit futile and it doesn't feel right.

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