Category: Let's talk
Question: What is the definition of the art of living well?
This definition has so many answers and the part that drives me crazy is that all of the answers or most of them are right. One might say that it means to live a life of riches. You know, having name-bran close or driving a nice car. One might say sexual pleasure or just having nothing at all. Well I have another question to ask you. Are you living well? Is your life, as Laura would say, One big ball of fluffy fur? Tell me, How do you know if you’re living well? Some people might try answering these questions without even having a second thought of this whole thing. I personally can answer this question. Yes, I’m living well. How do I know? Check this out.
This world is full of judgement about the way people should walk, talk, look, think, act, feel, etc. I learned that being myself is good enough. Sometimes we tend to be someone that we know that’s not US. We tend to change our values just because the world tells us to. Thus, changing our values and morals. Some people make decisions based on the reaction of other people. Face it. We’ve all made that mistake. Being myself, helps me to be a better person. I can think freely, act the way I want to, walk the way I want to, talk the way I want to. Look the way I want to. If you keep an opened mind and a positive outlook. The world is your foot stool. I found out that being myself drew more people to me that I can call friends. It has made me a more likable person. Yes, it’s true that some don’t like me because of the way I do things but it wouldn’t kill me. When you’re living well, you are free. You feel confident when you say your opinion about things. You love others an most of all love yourself. There are people in this world who are still enslaved because they let people control their way of living. Be free and true to yourself. You have inalienable rights. I know that the U.S. Constitution says in the first amendment, freedom of the press, speech and so on. However, you have other rights. So many that they can’t list them all. Here are a few questions I want you to think about. If you want to know more about rights read The Seeder Post. By Jack R. Rose.
1. Who are you? (Think about that)
2. Do you love yourself?
3. Am I keeping all of my inherent rights?
I know some of you may not take this to heart but its worth a try. I don’t even know what possessed me to write this but I did. Take it to your heart, not your head.
Any questions? You know where I am
Black Prince
Greetings BlackPrince,
Definitely a writing to give thot and consideration to.
Connie
niceley said
Hmm, on one hand this may seem a very well thought out and extremely right and liberating post. And, in general principal, I think it is. However it seems to indicate that you can do and be whatever or whoever you want, which is something I do take some issues with. Whereas it is true that you should not let people dictate who you are your happiness is ultimately tied to your acceptance and your successes and who you are may have a lot to do with your degree of success.
You may have the right to wear only flannel scarves and pajamas outside, however most people will consider you weird and lacking style and you e.g. would never get a job if you show up to interviews dressed like that, or if you never comb your hair or take a shower, because you feel that's who you are.
I think with rights come responsibilities. You may have the right to hold a gun but it also gives you a lot of power, you can kill someone with the press of a finger, it's a huge responsibility and I am not for granting that right to people personally.
Every right you have comes with some responsibility or choice and your happiness must inevitably be tied to those choices and how you handle those responsibilities.
So, whereas it's good to be yourself, have your own opinions, not blindly follow the masses or your friends group means or latest fashion I think there are still perfectly sensible restrictions imposed by living in society and getting on with other people that we do follow and I don't thnk it's necessarily a bad thing.
After all as a famous song once stated "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose".
cheers
-B
I agree well said
Not surprisingly, I have to agree with Wildebrew on this one, and would actually like to take the point a bit further. Blackprince, you make it sound as if conventions were invented simply to hold you back and keep you down, but that's completely wrong. Most of them are the way they are because they are beneficial to us. For example, the reason we walk upright and not on our hands and knees is that it's the heck of a lot better for our backs. The reason we don't just speak our minds no matter what is that oftentimes that would hurt other people's feelings unnecessarily. So, you see, all these conventions have a function, namely to promote peace and health and prosperity and to prevent people from infringeing on each other's rights, etc. Of course, you should be an are (in the ideal case...) free to express yourself within these conventions, but it's simply not true that the conventions themselves are your enemy. They are actually your friend, and that of your neighbors, and everyone else who shares a living space, such as the world, with you.
I'm so happy that I've been get replies from people. I'm always open to opinion and I like when people think out of the box. That cool.
thanks
Brake free from the conventions as they will hold you down..in the end convention is just another word for control.
That's a hippy statement for sure, but not very well thought out. As much as people who break away think they're being independent and free it usually turns out they simply associate with a different group of people and follow their convensions instead (goth, gangs etc), each group establishes its set of convensions and, not surprisingly, you are just as tied to those as you would be to "society's" convensions in any case. Thinking outside the box is good, trusting your own judgement is, no need to turn off your brain and just do what you're told but the "convensions are bad" attitude won't get you far in life and won't make you happier or enrich your life. Your happiness lies inn being happy with yourself, feeling you love and you're being loved and that you make a difference, in your life as well as in the lives of others, to me that's at least the point of it all. Just being a rebel in itself won't make you feel happy or free or won't make you successful.
I didn't get the impression Blackprince was advocating people just get rid of all convention. For good or ill, I think he's encouraging people to be themselves and not to just follow the herd merely because you want to be accepted even though you don't really enjoy it and are putting on a big show. I dunno. For a long time I thought I'd be happy if I followed this crowd or that, but stayed away from the big trendy crowd because I didn't give a damn about trends anyhow. But I discovered everywhere I went I felt like an outsider. I finally discovered that if I'm to belong anywhere, I had to seek out like-minded folk and form my own group. I've also heard this theory of how there's no such thing as nonconformity, but I think what a lot of people want is just to not belong to the big trendy crowd where they don't fit in anyhow. All groups have rules I suppose, because you need to know who's in and who's not and all those group dynamics and things. Then, what about people who don't want to belong to any group at all? I personally think I'm too odd to fit anywhere, but that's me. But I'm pretty happy with who I am, whether I'm fooling myself into believing I'm an outsider or not. Only I know who I am and sometimes that's in question and people who think they know me better than I do are most likely full of it. I've got a roof over my head, a girlfriend who loves me for who I am, lots of ways to occupy myself, and a pretty laid-back attitude about a lot of things.
yep, I agree. I think if you can look deep within yourself or look at yourself in the mirror every morning and say "I am me and I love me for who I am," then you are living well. I think sometimes life throws us lemmons and brings us down, but if we are totally comfortable in our own skin and with our own personalities and who we are, then we can get through anything. I have a lot of self respect and am happy with who I am...there are a few things I'd like to change, but Iknow I can change them. I'm satisfied with my life and I'm living well.
Labyrinth & CM you are right ..As a Goth I see far too many rebelling to conform to a strict code of dress ect and they are far from satisfied.I think following any convention is tantamount to locking yourself in prison
If taken that way, yes, I agree with the original post. The key to being happy is being able to look at yourself and feel you are who you want to be or at least that you are working towards getting there. Obviously that definition means that there are different answers for each one of us and the groups we conform to or our degree of conformation differs a lot. For some following conventions and follows "the herd" is what makes them happy, for others it's better to form your own group of friends. If there was one simple, uniform way to find happiness life would be a lot simpler but, fortunately, I have to say, there isn't and we each have to find our own happiness on our own with our emotions and the advises of those we admire or those who love us to guide us along the path.
Fuck it, my life is like that country song, everything I like is going to kill me, oh well.
I agree totally with ya Black Prince. Well said and yes it is most definitely something to take into consideration.