The Good Life - 05/20/2023 - Japan or America?
I had a conversation yesterday with Emily which I’d been waiting for since she was born. It was while Yumiko was cooking dinner, and Emily and I were sent to the store to buy dessert. Emily drove, because I’d been drinking wine, and while she drove she told me which country—America or Japan—she prefers, her reasons, and how she plans to proceed after graduation next year. She’s hinted her preference before, though I’d never heard her issue such a clear and decided opinion, backed up with the facts of her young lifetime of experience in both countries. I sat in the passenger seat, nodding my assent, in utter agreement with everything she said, our opinions perfectly aligned. But life’s complicated, messy and always truly incomplete. What we do rarely looks like what we think we should or want to do. Results vary.
I won’t tell anyone but Yumiko what Emily told me yesterday. It’s our family secret. Not because I normally keep secrets, but because this isn’t my secret to tell. Emily’s young life should not be constrained by her personal ideas carelessly expressed by her father. She’ll map her own way and share her own opinions, ideas and dreams with whomever she chooses. But now I know her heart and mind at twenty-two. And I will watch, cheer and support her from the sidelines now wherever she does proceed.
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.