The Good Life - 07/15/2023 - Reading ahead
I listened to a podcast (link in comments) yesterday, by a thirty-something year old American man living in Shizuoka Japan, a young father, wondering if he should return his family to America. What’s more, he did his thinking aloud, while strolling through the peaceful Shizuoka countryside. I tried to recognize the mountains and landscape around him, attempting to identify just where in Shizuoka he was; but I couldn’t quite pick it out. His reasons for wanting to leave were some of the same reasons I once felt; namely, a desire to not miss out on the challenge of life in America, wanting a gainful career, and wanting to show his kid another world, and desiring the struggle of attempting to succeed in a place where opportunity, costs and competition are eye-wateringly fierce, and to be immersed in the confused and thrilling upset and fascinating melee of the modern American way. Watching and hearing that young husband and father speak like he did, from Shizuoka no less, felt like seeing myself again. I could have easily made—and probably did make—a similar video around age 45, when I was thinking and feeling the same way. But now, I’m on the other side. I did leave, and I brought my family along, and I watched his video like a man who’s already read ahead to the end of the book… I’ve seen how the story might end, and I thought a lot about what I might say in response—and prudence dictates I keep my mouth largely shut…
#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.