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Phillip
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Anxiety and life - do our lives really matter?
August 10, 2004 - 05:58 AM
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Whether you are male or female, 15 or 50, rich or poor maybe you've asked yourself recently whether life is really meaningful. I think about that a lot. And, at least to me, the answer matters. Is the world really a kind of global zoo? Is just getting up in the morning, going through the day and then going to sleep at night until my time is done all there is? Why am I here, and why should anyone care? If I find an answer, will that answer only apply to me? Why are so many people so interested only in having a house big enough for seven families or an owning a luxury automobile when the average person in the world doesn't have enough food or water or land or education or freedom and is barely surviving?
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Lesley Melissa Harden
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A Purpose
August 10, 2004 - 09:08 AM
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I think that this is a question formed by lots of thinking. If you worry about your place in life, there can be no acceptance of who you are and what your purpose is. Some people find their purpose in life, it comes natural to them. Others may never find the one thing they want to do in life and will never be truly happy. I think you have to be comfortable with yourself and the knowledge that you are here on this Earth to do good and be you...then success and millions will be yours. Not necessarily money-wise....
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Phillip
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Thank you Lesley
August 10, 2004 - 09:44 AM
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I appreciate your post, but I feel differently. I think a lot of our problems in the world result because so few people in the world take the time to worry about why they're here and/or what's really important. The U.S., in some ways, has become the "mini-van society" depicted in the film "American Beauty" ... people focusing on things like becoming more upscale and belonging to the most exclusive clubs or organizations rather than on helping their children with schoolwork or spending time with them. Children kill other children for backetball shoes with Michael Jordan's name on them because they are conditioned to believe that attaining status is more important than another human being.
You said "If you worry about your place in life, there can be no acceptance of who you are and what your purpose is". Is that a fact or an opinion? An opinion for sure, and - as that - I sincerely respect it. But how can anyone presume that any of us has a predetermined identity or purpose that we must accept? On the contrary, I believe that too many young people never realize their potential because people are always limiting their horizons by telling them that they need to accept who they are (translation: "look kid, you're really not that talented or bright so accept your fate and be happy about it" . Why would I make such a comment?
In 1969 I entered the U.S. Marine Corps which, at that time, was a horrible challenge. I'd had a serious illness as a child (my mother still swears it was polio) and no one - not even my parents - believed in me. One young man committed suicide in boot camp, another died as well. I made it though. Why would I enter the Marine Corps? I had to go into the military because I had a low draft number. There were long waiting lists for people wanting into the navy or airforce because the alternative was the army or the marine corps. I joined the marine corps because they offered me a chance to serve in the marine air wing - and I went into a helicopter outfit.
Whar about university? My high school counselor had told my parents I wasn't intelligent enough for university. The counselor was wrong, but I was too young and insecure to challenge the thinking of such an authority figure. And, as I came from a poor family, the counselor's assessment of me was consistent with what society's expectations of me at that time would have been.
I finally did go to university, after returning from the war in Vietnam ... an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. To everyone's surprise I was on the Dean's honor list all the way through university. When I later took an IQ test I scored a 161, high enough to qualify me for Mensa. Thank god I didn't accept who and what society had tried to tell me I was and what it believed my purpose was ... that of a "worker bee". In my class of society everyone was expected to become a "worker bee" ... someone who would take on a factory job and never think about anything ...
But maybe you meant something else by your remark and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. I liked that you responded. But ... really ... I think we have to think about these things, a lot, to figure out who we are and what out purpose is. And maybe - hopefully - it's not pre-determined. Hopefully we can think about ourselves in the context of the whole world and beyond ... and grow ... so that we can define more possible identities and find a more fulfilling purpose than would otherwise be the case. For sure I don't really know ... and I know you don't either because, after all, who can? But I'm glad you took the time to write. I believe that the dialogue matters.
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Gerald Derome
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Re: Anxiety and life - do our lives really matter?
August 10, 2004 - 11:17 AM
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I make my life matter.
IT is my choice!
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Phillip
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Nice response Lesley (Leo too)
August 11, 2004 - 09:16 AM
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Perhaps you will like to visit web pages I created at http://www.iei.net/~pwagner/brazilhome.htm
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Lesley Melissa Harden
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Re: Anxiety and life - do our lives really matter?
August 11, 2004 - 12:25 PM
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I, by no means, believe in pre-destination. A lot of the ideas and theories you have are very excellent. I'm so glad you have overcome your 'label' and accelerated throughout life. I'm not sure as to what I believe..a lot of my beliefs coincide..but I do believe that each human has the ability, regardless of upbringings and heritage, to discover what they are to do on Earth..how they are to make a difference..or not make a difference. I believe something guides us..and that some incidents happen for a reason..seems that your going into the Marines had an impact on your life, no? Anyway I enjoyed your response rather much, thank you.
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Fundiswa Agnes
Joined: Oct 21, 2004
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Do our lives really matter?
November 4, 2004 - 04:18 AM
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I think my life really matters, but why shuld someone else's hapiness or success determine my destiny? Why do we have to make decisions depending on what the world is going think of us? Is it a question of living the your life the way people want? As a 22 year old female I find it very hard to decide on some of the things that are going to determine my future because the world is so much on me that I have to do what it expects of me. Why? Is it fare?
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Phillip
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Re: Anxiety and life - do our lives really matter?
November 4, 2004 - 08:48 AM
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You ask: "why shuld someone else's happiness or success determine my destiny?". Well, there are two answers. One is that it shouldn't. That answer presupposes you're in this for yourself and anything that happens to anyone else in the world id their problem. Your entitled to that perspective if you choose it and, if that's the case then "bon voyage" ... because you're really just a tourist in this life. I've been all over the world and I can say with some confidence that tourists often - though not always - tend to be the people I would most want to avoid. The other answer is that it matters because 1) we're all in this (life) together and whatever affects one of us - in a way - affects all of us, 2) but for the grace of something (some would call it god but I prefer not to be so dogmatic) any one of us could be in the same position as the average person on earth - without clean water or sanitation, undernourished, impoverished, in many cases oppressed or tortured or murdered, without descent shelter or medical assistance and so on. The great debate in the US now is terrorism. Yet we continue to conduct foreign policy in only two ways - either through diplomacy that compromises, generally, the needs of people in favor of the wants of governments, and through the military which sows the seeds of death and destruction. So the answer to your question is that you DON'T have to do anything you don't want to. I'm sure you'll have a good time in life. Best regards, Phillip http://www.iei.net/~pwagner/brazilhome.htm
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Brian
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Re: Anxiety and life - do our lives really matter?
November 4, 2004 - 09:50 AM
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If I lived my life like my high school principal thought I would, I would have gone to jail for the rest of my life! Thanks for the vote of confidence Ms. Vela! Anyway, I too overcame a serious negative expectation from my educator's expectations and have "made something" of myself. I can always be better though. That's why I will never stop reading and will write when I get the chance. I did have one teacher who actually saw some potential in me. My 11th grade English teacher. I wish there were a lot more like her out there!
I agree that materialism is a great problem in Western society.
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Phillip
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Nice post Brian
November 4, 2004 - 10:09 AM
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I see you from time to time online and have noted your contributions previously. Just wanted to say.
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