I simply adore becoming old. Every decade of my life has been an improvement on the decade before. Life really is like climbing a mountain, with the view improving with every hard year of striving. This fact I knew. I understood this point in my thirties, forties and fifties, which motivated me then to climb hard and to rarely rest. What I didn’t know was that with age—with altitude, really—the noise and clammer of the younger years may get slowly left behind, like a raucous city park concert growing dim while we move further out of town. I can still hear the noise, down there and far behind. But it’s growing fainter every day as I continue this more peaceful upward climb.
There’s quiet up here on the mountain of life, up above the elevations of our striving school years, and our earnest career years, and our dedicated parenthood years and all the rest. It seems we’ve reached the alpine slopes beyond all that. A place of sweet air, small gurgling streams and tiny mountain flowers among the rocks. There are great summits nearby and the highest peaks stand clear and looming just above, like giants surrounding Beanstalk Jack. And there’s the darkest and coldest heaven now just overhead, like black outer space beyond our fingertip reach. And turning from the mountain to look back where we’ve come, oh my! What a view! Did we really travel in life so far! Are there really so many places and days left behind? A vast landscape of memory from this high mountainside to that far distant sea where we started six decades back. Maybe I’ll sit a while and have a look, take in the vista and relish this newfound peace? Yeah, O.K., but just for a bit. For soon we must turn and resume our climb. As climbing is simply what we do. And though we know there is no summit in life, and we all must die along the way, we’ll nevertheless keep striving up for as long as we can, moving and climbing higher through the peace, and the satisfaction, of becoming old.
☀️ THE GOOD LIFE CREED ☀️
The Good Life Meditation serves as a daily compass, orienting me towards personal objectives and principles essential for a purposeful existence within an indifferent universe. Further your understanding of The Good Life by visiting my website, GoingAlone.org, or delve into my book Going Alone—hardcover recommended. Get a signed copy here. 📚✍️
🎯 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 🐢🧘♂️
8. Maintain Balance ⚖️
📜 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 0️⃣ 34. The Principle of Fun 🎉
35. Being Ready 🚀
🌄📚🚶♂️ Kurt Bell is a passionate explorer, dedicated family man, and author of books such as "Going Alone" and "No More Looking Out For Number One." Born in America in 1964, he integrates Stoic philosophy into his physical and philosophical journeys. Today's venture on The Path of Wildness embodies this harmonious blend of exploration and mindful living. While Kurt savors these moments and looks forward to future adventures, he remains ever prepared for life's end, ready to depart without a single backwards glance.
🌐 Website: https://goingalone.org
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/softypapa
📧 Email: dinnerbytheriver@gmail.com
👍 Support my endeavors on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/softypapa
My name is Kurt Bell
Learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone
Be safe... But not too safe.