My Philosophy

Prompted by a late night/early morning chat with an old friend about .. I don't know, ..me, basically. And when do I think I might turn my life around. This is the kind of question that a personal philosophy should help to answer. Or at least provide some direction towards an answer. But where does one get one's personal philosophy from? Is it moulded from the borrowed philosophies of others? Is it made fresh from whole cloth?
What about those of us, like me, who don't know where to begin? Is a personal philosophy necessary? I seem aimless in life, and more than a little confused as I struggle to find a place to fit in. I'm not completely content, but I'm not entirely unhappy either. I'm don't ask for much from life and I'm grateful for everything I have. As a member of my own population I have a lot to be thankful for, and on the global scale I am far better off than most.
My worries are petty on that scale, and judged against the majority of humans that have ever lived I am one of the luckiest people to have ever lived. To be so fortunate as to have been born when and where I was, and to live in this time, I have earned the envy of some of the greatest philosophers that have ever lived. So I musn't grumble. And I don't.
How about you?

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• philosophy
• fortune
• grace
• confusion
• gratitude

[NoFaithNoPain]

"Money, Women, Property, what else is there in life?" I had that problem at age 40. The answer for me was..... fun. To have fun, I needed money. I started businesses with varying levels of success and disaster, but boy did I have a whole barrell load of stress, fun happiness and sorrow. I lived and still am living. You may not need money, but you do need fun. Sod the property and the Women and the money. Borrowing or renting someone else's is better.

[DaithiDublin]

@NoFaithNoPain I'm on the right track, so. That's reassuring!

[NihlisticAlchemist]

It's most likely just a random number he picked. After reading his stuff I've decided that's the best explanation. My philosophy is very much the same actually, hell I've never even had credit cards. it's a fun like though so far : )

[DaithiDublin]

@NihlisticAlchemist I sometimes wonder how things might have panned out if I never had the cards. I had a very good, straight and promising career at the time. But I was starting to drink too much. Lack of funds would have curbed that, but with the cards I just went into overdrive. Ended up loosing the job, getting arrested, thrown in jail, let out on bail and then I hit the trail and never looked back! It's been an interesting ride since then. Now I wouldn't know normal if it bit me. Huzzah! :)

[OgreVI]

I'm still 16 months away from 42, but I'm looking forward to it. Not because I expect to understand the meaning of life then, but because I expect to BE the meaning of life. I always figured that was the point of turning 42 in a post-Adams universe.

I admit I haven't yet figured out exactly what that will entail, though.

[DaithiDublin]

@OgreVI You WILL enjoy it then. I can't see how anyone who loved those books can't get some kick out of it just for that simple reason. I remember that when I turned 33 I celebrated Easter by symbolically crucifying myself for about an hour and reflecting that I was able to do something that Jesus couldn't: Get myself down and carry on drinking! 42 is *much* more fun. And not knowing shit that obsesses other people can be pretty liberating. Zaphod would approve!

[NihlisticAlchemist]

@DaithiDublin Well you can't take any of it with you. So leading an interesting life for you at the time I think is a good thing. Can't fix the past so meh.

[DaithiDublin]

@ChaoticSupernova Mid-life? You're very generous Isaac! If I make it to 70 I reckon I'll be beating the odds, so cheers! This was more of a midnight crisis that spilled over to the following morning! :¬)

[DaithiDublin]

@rozeboosje I was never able to do that with my cards. I wish I'd had your sense. It's beating them at their own game, isn't it? Or at least not letting them win. But I was a sucker, and a desperate one at that. I'd requested them earlier when I was fluid and been refused. I could have managed them then, but they waited until I was draining my account every month before they offered them to me and like a fool I started to splurge. It was an expensive lesson.

[ChaoticSupernova]

Midlife crisis?

I thought about this some years ago, and after some poise I found out that it is less about "finding" yourself and more about creating yourself. Your personality is a canvas and while life makes its changes to what the picture is, you can grab some paint and splash away.