There’s a strong wind outside. They call these the “Santa Ana” winds. It’s early still, and dark, and the whole house rattles and shakes. Me too. I rattle and shake. That skateboard board ride two days back left me sore and limping, though you won’t notice when I run into the water tonight as I make a good show of pretending I don’t hurt. I do. I hurt. And these are just the pains and aches I can feel. At fifty-eight I know the entirety of me is now winding down. Strength, failing. Vitality, fading. Congnition, slacking. In my book Going Alone I describe the considered life like a man holding his breathe in a sealed chamber of water with a minute of life and a small piece of chalk in hand. What few words to write—if any—on the wall before the last suffering gulps of water and we’re gone? I think that now as the Santa Ana’s rock this old house now in the dark, and as age rattles my old bones so very near the end of life. But then, we’re always so very near the end of life. Even the young. Even the vital. Even the clear thinking. Memento mori.
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. Public Speaking 13. Temperance 14. Life Will Not Go Well 15. The Horror Show 16. That Which Must Be Borne 17. The Feast of Offal 18. Distraction 19. Agency and The Great Indifference 20. The Best Seat in the House 21. The Restless Man 22. The Path of Wildness 23. The Great Life Adventure 24. The Risk of Avoiding Risk 25. Sin and Damnation 26. Complete Oblivion 27. The Season of Philosophy 28. Bullseye Aim 29. The Uphill Climb 30. Arena and Utility 31. Nothing IS enough 32. The Principle of Fun
My name is Kurt Bell.
You can learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone.
Be safe... But not too safe.