1. What is most important is not always apparent. I'd suggest that it is something that you would die for, or would feel like death to you if it was taken away from you. The most important things have a hierarchy. The lowest tiers are occupied by materialistic things (i.e. money and possessions ) as well as personality worship. The mid-tiers by ideologies (political and religious) and social status. The high tiers by heroism (family, friends, and even community). The highest tiers by transcendental things like the-good-for all-of-mankind, wisdom, beauty, or truth. I'm shooting from the hip here, so the things are not exhaustive or necessarily in the right tier.
2. One cannot live without constraints. I agree. I think that a significant constraint one should impose upon oneself is reality. i.e. you should be intimate with what is real, and continuously compare your map with the terrain to ensure that they are still aligned. Too many intellectuals live in lalaland, building abstract theory upon abstract theory, regardless of what reality has to say about it. I reckon that is why we have the confusion when someone asks "what is a woman?"; why men are allowed to compete as woman against other woman; or why there are pundits that cause financial ruin with their advice to others. Have skin in the game. Welcome truth like a beloved brutal teacher. Wave pesky things away that are not rooted in reality, because they distract and misdirect. Time is reality and finite, don't waste it. Or as Seneca said "death is not ahead of you, but behind you in the time that was wasted"
3. Like I said in the first aspect, there are tiers to what is important. And this final statement says you should aim at the highest tiers. I agree. The disagreement might arise from what that highest thing should be. Many quickly say "God!", but the concept of God might need more consideration. What is God? Again, the concept of god could probably be put into tiers. The lowest tier being "my person", i.e. a powerful living being with a mind, personality, and emotions (a bit like the image of a perfect powerful man). Mid tier probably that he is "our person", meaning that he is not just looking our for you, but for everyone now and later. Higher tier is probably that he is a personification of fate, reality, truth, meta-truth or something like that. Again, just shooting from the hip, not exhaustive or necessarily correct. Aiming at the highest tiers is a noble intent, but not easy. One could say "Truth! Truth is the ultimate good" okay, and what are you hoping to achieve by adopting truth? Just generally, what are you trying to achieve? What is the impact/change you are hoping to achieve in the world? "How" to get there is one element, "Why" you should get there is another. Geez, my brain hurts. Maybe one should just start on the journey towards the greater good with an open mind and open eyes and then adjust destination and direction as you figure it out on your way.
My rules to manage the rule of life would be:
1. think - Descartes said "I think, therefore I am" as the departure point to prove his existence. One should think, and to think one must...
2. seek to understand - that means that you should pursue truth, wherever it may lead you. Your intent should be to become wiser, and to do that you must...
3. question everything. EVERYTHING - Nothing is sacred in the pursuit of truth and wisdom. If you encounter truth, grab it! Do not hold onto falsehood simply because you are invested in it. Truth is a light in the darkness and sets you free. Don't try to convince others if you are not willing to be convinced yourself. But you'll only know truth if you...
4. test everything - like I said earlier, stay in touch with reality. And the best way to stay in touch with reality is some skin in the game (you won't learn to skate if you don't risk falling from the skateboard) and to continually review and compare what you believe with what is observed. And finally...
5. figure out what impact you want your life to have made on the world. I have gone through a simple mapping exercise a while ago to figure what gives me joy, what disgusts me, and what pissed me off. Putting this map together I figured out "I want to impart better decision-making to the world". Why? Because if people are wiser and make better decisions, then everyone benefits as a whole. And to each his/her own goal
anyways, think that is about it for now from my side.
I principle I agree with the three aspects:
1. What is most important is not always apparent. I'd suggest that it is something that you would die for, or would feel like death to you if it was taken away from you. The most important things have a hierarchy. The lowest tiers are occupied by materialistic things (i.e. money and possessions ) as well as personality worship. The mid-tiers by ideologies (political and religious) and social status. The high tiers by heroism (family, friends, and even community). The highest tiers by transcendental things like the-good-for all-of-mankind, wisdom, beauty, or truth. I'm shooting from the hip here, so the things are not exhaustive or necessarily in the right tier.
2. One cannot live without constraints. I agree. I think that a significant constraint one should impose upon oneself is reality. i.e. you should be intimate with what is real, and continuously compare your map with the terrain to ensure that they are still aligned. Too many intellectuals live in lalaland, building abstract theory upon abstract theory, regardless of what reality has to say about it. I reckon that is why we have the confusion when someone asks "what is a woman?"; why men are allowed to compete as woman against other woman; or why there are pundits that cause financial ruin with their advice to others. Have skin in the game. Welcome truth like a beloved brutal teacher. Wave pesky things away that are not rooted in reality, because they distract and misdirect. Time is reality and finite, don't waste it. Or as Seneca said "death is not ahead of you, but behind you in the time that was wasted"
3. Like I said in the first aspect, there are tiers to what is important. And this final statement says you should aim at the highest tiers. I agree. The disagreement might arise from what that highest thing should be. Many quickly say "God!", but the concept of God might need more consideration. What is God? Again, the concept of god could probably be put into tiers. The lowest tier being "my person", i.e. a powerful living being with a mind, personality, and emotions (a bit like the image of a perfect powerful man). Mid tier probably that he is "our person", meaning that he is not just looking our for you, but for everyone now and later. Higher tier is probably that he is a personification of fate, reality, truth, meta-truth or something like that. Again, just shooting from the hip, not exhaustive or necessarily correct. Aiming at the highest tiers is a noble intent, but not easy. One could say "Truth! Truth is the ultimate good" okay, and what are you hoping to achieve by adopting truth? Just generally, what are you trying to achieve? What is the impact/change you are hoping to achieve in the world? "How" to get there is one element, "Why" you should get there is another. Geez, my brain hurts. Maybe one should just start on the journey towards the greater good with an open mind and open eyes and then adjust destination and direction as you figure it out on your way.
My rules to manage the rule of life would be:
1. think - Descartes said "I think, therefore I am" as the departure point to prove his existence. One should think, and to think one must...
2. seek to understand - that means that you should pursue truth, wherever it may lead you. Your intent should be to become wiser, and to do that you must...
3. question everything. EVERYTHING - Nothing is sacred in the pursuit of truth and wisdom. If you encounter truth, grab it! Do not hold onto falsehood simply because you are invested in it. Truth is a light in the darkness and sets you free. Don't try to convince others if you are not willing to be convinced yourself. But you'll only know truth if you...
4. test everything - like I said earlier, stay in touch with reality. And the best way to stay in touch with reality is some skin in the game (you won't learn to skate if you don't risk falling from the skateboard) and to continually review and compare what you believe with what is observed. And finally...
5. figure out what impact you want your life to have made on the world. I have gone through a simple mapping exercise a while ago to figure what gives me joy, what disgusts me, and what pissed me off. Putting this map together I figured out "I want to impart better decision-making to the world". Why? Because if people are wiser and make better decisions, then everyone benefits as a whole. And to each his/her own goal
anyways, think that is about it for now from my side.
I look forward to reading your follow-up essays.