The Thoughts Behind Life

[propositumvitae-blog]

           Some moments can define us; other moments can set us free. Every person lives with scars from moments where they would like to take something back, to alter something that has happened that they continue to carry with them and quite possibly will until the day that they die. These scarring moments change the course of events that our lives are placed on and set off an earthquake of emotions and thoughts whose aftershocks are felt years and years in the future, without end. On the other hand, the freeing moments are those in which we look back upon later in life and wish we could experience that moment just one more time. Because in that moment and in that memory, nothing else mattered. There was pure bliss, pure clarity that this life might not be so bad after all, that perhaps, life really was beautiful and could be something special. These freeing moments are the moments we find ourselves looking back upon at all points, in a daydream or after tough days. They represent the hope that we hold in each of us that maybe life can be something idealistic and magical. Now, the question that I present today is what would you do, given the choice between being able to eliminate one scarring moment or being able to relive one freeing moment as often as one would like? Would you eliminate the moment that your life changed? The moment that every event planned for your life shifted courses? This would lead to a completely different life, one that was not marked by the pain and the destruction of the one moment. One moment would no longer hold you back and cause you to question every moment after its occurrence. This new life would be much easier, much clearer. Or, would you choose to be able to relive one freeing moment, as often as one would like? The idea of being able to relive your favorite day, favorite memory as often as you would want. The idea that you could return to a moment of pure beauty and happiness and feel the warmth reverberate throughout you. It would no longer be a memory, but a lifelong opportunity to feel and to experience and to live. Which would you choose? We all live with both kinds of moments, the scarring and the freeing. But the real question is not which option you would choose because we do not live in a world in which we can eliminate or relive. We must continually go forward, for better or for worse, with no hesitation. I suppose the real question, therefore, is which moments – scarring or freeing – are we going to choose to remember most and relive more often? For we cannot control everything that happens in our lives, we cannot control the amount of good or the amount of bad that happens to us, but what we can control is how we react to these moments and what we learn about living from them.  

[propositumvitae-blog]

It’s Time to Stop Being Afraid

           We live in a world that is so concerned with title, status, wealth, material goods. Nothing of substance about the person or the life that person may live. Think about college, often when we meet people for the first time, one of the first questions we ask is, “What is your major?” We are concerned about what they are doing with their lives – what their status will be, what their financial future looks like. We are taught that a worthwhile life is one in which we are happy, but the makings of a happy life are ones in which are centered around materials – we want comfortable living conditions, a nice house, fast cars, new clothes, the best schools for our kids. To a certain extent, I agree that we need to be realistic in our hopes and dreams for the future. But we have completely lost sense of what happiness can and should be. I have not found happiness in searching for this monetary and social success. Instead, I have found discontent, frustration, and a lack of purpose. If our lives are simply to be “lived” to get an education, get a job, make money, and achieve status, then why not just turn to robots to live our lives? For that is all we are in society; we are merely robots living out the dreams of one who came before us and declared that the “right” way to happiness is through superficial means. However, I contend this notion. I contend the whole premise of happiness and priorities is backward. People who aspire to things other than status and wealth are looked at as idealists, dreamers, naïve, and unprepared for the real world. However, I believe the true people that are naïve are the ones whom believe in the made up notion of success that the world has been trained to believe in today. We live in a world with so much sadness, oppression, and feelings of discontent. Clearly, our system is not the solution. We are brainwashed, predisposed to believe in the idea that our dreams are dumb and unrealistic and shaped to focus on the pillars of how to be successful and make a good deal of money. Dreams are what got us to this point. Without the dreams of the Founding Fathers, America would not exist. Without the dreams of abolitionists, slavery would still rule throughout the lands. Without the dreams of courageous men and women who believed in freedom, Nazi Germany would have never been defeated. So what is wrong with dreams? No, my dream will not lead me to the most monetary or social success, but it will lead me to the purpose that I feel in my heart. It will lead me to peace and meaning and happiness. Happiness. Dreams are the most important thing in the world and we live in a society that promotes the genocide of dreamers. The meaning of life is something subjective for each individual, so why do we believe in a system in which everyone shares the same meaning? We are all taught to search for money and status, but this is not our individual meaning. We must find that for ourselves, through our individual dreams. Then, we can truly be the best versions and expressions of ourselves that we were intended to be. We can provide the best for society, in whatever capacity that should be. Isn’t a world full of happy dreamers with purpose better than one with wealthy clones living lives they were not meant to be in? We are clones. Each of us. Because we are afraid to chase our dreams. We are afraid, and I think it’s time to stop being afraid.