The Good Life - 04/15/2023 - Thoughts elsewhere *
I had an astonishing realization this morning. I’ve been feeling guilty, unappreciative might be the better word, lately for spending so much time thinking about our upcoming life in Japan. ”Stop that” I say, “Enjoy the life you live now, here, in Southern California, which is an amazing place.” adding “You’re so lucky to live here, Kurt. Be grateful and focus on the here and now.” But then, this morning, I remembered this precise phenomenon happening in Japan ten years ago exactly, in spring 2013, when we’d resolved to return to the USA and my thinking switched gears and my brain began taking up advance residence in America, a full year before my body moved here in February, 2014. The timing is uncanny, ten years exact! And now I’m doing the same thing again in reverse. And it’s not a bad thing to do. As this process simply means that our current lives are largely done. Emily, Yumiko and I have experienced so much during our last decade in the USA: Emily became fully American and finished school, Yumiko found a challenging career and had an amazing adventure, and I did the same and wrote a book which completed my life. And we all went to Disneyland and had our day at the beach. This Southern California life is simply done. Just like our lives in Japan were done ten years ago. And therefore, it’s time now to start packing our bags for a new life adventure someplace else. A fresh and fun new beginning, and a chance to reinvent ourselves yet again, to start dreaming and becoming someone new—whoever we want to be. So, yeah, I guess I’m not thinking of America very much anymore, just like I wasn’t thinking of Japan much in 2013. And that’s alright, as this might just be the natural way that old and completed lives wind down to end, while fresh and interesting new lives ramp up to begin.
#GoingAlone#GreatLifeAdventure
The Good Life Meditation is my daily recitation and reminder of personal objectives and principles used in pursuit of a purposeful life in spite of a universe of seeming indifference. Learn more about The Good Life at my website GoingAlone.org or by reading my book Going Alone. And visit our Discord at: https://lnkd.in/gFgfGmY6
OBJECTIVES: 1. Be Always Ready to Die 2. Make Good Use of Time and Resources 3. Develop Good and Sound Life Principles 4. Cultivate Good Emotional Reactions 5. Perform Good Actions 6. Recognize True Limits and Opportunity 7. One Thing Slowly
PRINCIPLES: 1. Principle of War 2. Principle of Reason 3. Homunculus 4. Anchorhold 5. Home of Good and Evil 6. Principle of Purpose 7. Atomic Principle 8. Principle of Nature 9. The Pirate Ride 10. Principle of Maturity 11. Social Principle
12. Principle of Family 13. Public Speaking 14. Temperance 15. Life Will Not Go Well 16. The Horror Show 17. That Which Must Be Borne 18. The Feast of Offal 19. Distraction 20. Agency and The Great Indifference 21. The Best Seat in the House 22. The Restless Man 23. The Path of Wildness 24. The Great Life Adventure 25. The Risk of Avoiding Risk 26. Sin and Damnation 27. Complete Oblivion 28. The Season of Philosophy
29. Scriptwriting 30. Bullseye Aim 31. The Uphill Climb 32. Arena and Utility 33. Nothing IS enough 34. The Principle of Fun
#Stoic #Stoicism #StoicPhilosophy
My name is Kurt Bell.
You can learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone.
Be safe... But not too safe.