Sometimes I'm surprised by the feelings that I share or don't share with others. There are people who have felt things I have not felt, and people who don't feel things I have felt. The one that's been hounding me recently is the sensation that you must be more than you are - that you should try to be better than you are.
I've never understood some peoples' resignation to mediocrity.
That's not to say that I am not mediocre, or even unnoticed - I am both. Striving for greatness is a noble endeavor regardless of your ability to achieve it. Without hope for the future, what are you?
I came across the quote while reading some stuff by Tim Boucher (always insightful). This one passage he quoted from a second source interested me:
...there are generally two different types of human existing on this planet. There are souled humans, meaning, those whose souls contain the spark of individualized consciousness, who exhibit human characteristics like having an independent mind, empathy, complex emotions, and personality nuances. Then there are Organic Portals, people who are biologically no different from souled humans, but spiritually they lack individualized consciousness and therefore function more like animal or plant species in the sense of sharing a single group soul.
Basically, the author draws a line between what is essentially the 'individual' and 'the masses'. The thing that miffs me are those people who confine themselves to the masses. This is not to suggest that I want people to live in a way that is extravagant or esoteric. I want people to recognize their inviduality and their own potential for greatness, should they choose to persue it. This brings me to a quote from an old Hermetic scripture:
...if thou shuttest up thy soul int he body, and abasest thyself and sayest 'I know nothing, I can do nothing, I am afraid of earth and sea, I cannot mount to heaven, I know not what I was or what I shall be;' then what hast thou to do with God? (Corpus Hermeticum xi. [ii]))
Or, to put it in simpler terms, if you degrade yourself to nothing more than a body and mind that must be fed and dies, you will never know purpose.
For me it comes down to that purpose. The age old question is "What is the meaning of life?" To most people, they don't need to know THE meaning to have SOME KIND of meaning in their life. Though, if you make your job your meaning, or your child or your spouse your meaning, you've essentially put the value of your life in a temporary vessel.
I went out to lunch yesterday with a friend of mine, and we talked a little on the idea of retirement. Retirement has always been a funny topic for me because it's such a poorly defined concept. On one hand, retirement is death. When you have retired, you have passed away. In the working world, retirement means you stop working. Is being pulled out of the productive flow of society like death in the eyes of society? Maybe.
My friend said that he never really thought he'd retire, because if he did, what would he spend his time doing? I read in the past that retirement is the leading cause of depression among the elderly. Losing that feeling of purpose, feeling as though "your job here is done, now go home" is a dangerous and not very heartening prospect. The number one killer of old people is retirement, they say.
Now you should see why it's dangerous to attribute your life's meaning to something temporary. It's a noble thought to say "I get meaning through loving and caring for my child" or "I get meaning by doing the best job I can" but people and jobs pass. If there is only one constant throughout your life from which you should derive meaning, it is yourself.
Throughout your life, BEING is the only thing that stays true. Your family may die, your friends may leave you, you may be jobless on the street - it may be just the opposite - but the one thing that continues regardless of circumstance is your own existence.
So, make your existence the focus of your meaning. Focus on your spirit, character, or whatever it is that makes you YOURSELF. Focus on self improvement - the sky's the limit. Don't worry about whether it will bring riches or love; make it a self-fulfilling reward. When you're on your deathbed, the only thing you know you'll have is yourself. This gives every second of your life meaning.
I've never understood some peoples' resignation to mediocrity.
That's not to say that I am not mediocre, or even unnoticed - I am both. Striving for greatness is a noble endeavor regardless of your ability to achieve it. Without hope for the future, what are you?
I came across the quote while reading some stuff by Tim Boucher (always insightful). This one passage he quoted from a second source interested me:
...there are generally two different types of human existing on this planet. There are souled humans, meaning, those whose souls contain the spark of individualized consciousness, who exhibit human characteristics like having an independent mind, empathy, complex emotions, and personality nuances. Then there are Organic Portals, people who are biologically no different from souled humans, but spiritually they lack individualized consciousness and therefore function more like animal or plant species in the sense of sharing a single group soul.
Basically, the author draws a line between what is essentially the 'individual' and 'the masses'. The thing that miffs me are those people who confine themselves to the masses. This is not to suggest that I want people to live in a way that is extravagant or esoteric. I want people to recognize their inviduality and their own potential for greatness, should they choose to persue it. This brings me to a quote from an old Hermetic scripture:
...if thou shuttest up thy soul int he body, and abasest thyself and sayest 'I know nothing, I can do nothing, I am afraid of earth and sea, I cannot mount to heaven, I know not what I was or what I shall be;' then what hast thou to do with God? (Corpus Hermeticum xi. [ii]))
Or, to put it in simpler terms, if you degrade yourself to nothing more than a body and mind that must be fed and dies, you will never know purpose.
For me it comes down to that purpose. The age old question is "What is the meaning of life?" To most people, they don't need to know THE meaning to have SOME KIND of meaning in their life. Though, if you make your job your meaning, or your child or your spouse your meaning, you've essentially put the value of your life in a temporary vessel.
I went out to lunch yesterday with a friend of mine, and we talked a little on the idea of retirement. Retirement has always been a funny topic for me because it's such a poorly defined concept. On one hand, retirement is death. When you have retired, you have passed away. In the working world, retirement means you stop working. Is being pulled out of the productive flow of society like death in the eyes of society? Maybe.
My friend said that he never really thought he'd retire, because if he did, what would he spend his time doing? I read in the past that retirement is the leading cause of depression among the elderly. Losing that feeling of purpose, feeling as though "your job here is done, now go home" is a dangerous and not very heartening prospect. The number one killer of old people is retirement, they say.
Now you should see why it's dangerous to attribute your life's meaning to something temporary. It's a noble thought to say "I get meaning through loving and caring for my child" or "I get meaning by doing the best job I can" but people and jobs pass. If there is only one constant throughout your life from which you should derive meaning, it is yourself.
Throughout your life, BEING is the only thing that stays true. Your family may die, your friends may leave you, you may be jobless on the street - it may be just the opposite - but the one thing that continues regardless of circumstance is your own existence.
So, make your existence the focus of your meaning. Focus on your spirit, character, or whatever it is that makes you YOURSELF. Focus on self improvement - the sky's the limit. Don't worry about whether it will bring riches or love; make it a self-fulfilling reward. When you're on your deathbed, the only thing you know you'll have is yourself. This gives every second of your life meaning.
Heee...I feel contentment is often synonymous for happiness. It's just a different part of the scale, in my eyes.And just as good. It's just as good as feeling yucky,because even feeling yucky serves a purpose...and it's just a little bit further down the scale than is contentment.
Just my opinion.
Hugs Deluxe,
S