So, after all of this philosophizing and seeking of wisdom and the meaning of life and all that shit, I have decided to change my perspective. I am doing something different.
I’m going to enjoy life.
So this begins my journey into a new world. For the longest time I had this notion – probably born of Christianity – that seeking wisdom and spiritual discernment and all that was what would make me ultimately happy for eternity. So I – in typical Josh fashion – devoted my every fiber of my being to that goal. It brought me through quite a bit of pain really. Solomon did say not to be overly wise.
But now, after all of that – and I can honestly say I think I genuinely found what I was looking for – I discover that only one thing remains: enjoying life. After all, the smart and the stupid die the same, but whether both enjoyed life is what matters. Is it not odd that we like celebrating the fulfilled thief? No, I do not plan on going into crime, but if I ever do, you can be assured I will be a just criminal.
Anyway, that’s about it. It’s going to start with me doing the following:
* Learning how to be healthy.
* Getting rid of pursuits that I know won’t make me happy.
* Listening to my gut (I have a feeling this one will be the most fun, because it will probably mean I am going to do a lot of really weird things and not give a shit about what anyone else thinks)
* Learning to enjoy the ladies (even more than I now do)
* Learning to enjoy my family despite their beliefs
* Finding humor in all things
Hmmm, that might be a good start. I, in typical blog fashion, will keep you posted. Now it is off to bed, to fulfill the first goal.
- Josh
Daily Happiness Rank: 6 (pretty good despite food poisoning this morning). I think 5 will be average, where anything less than 5 indicates ‘not happy’ and anything greater than 5 indicates happy. We’ll see how long this lasts. This number will represent the average of the entire day, not just how I feel at the moment.
Good post, Josh I can so relate. After being so religious I oftne wonder if other people- those who haven’t been so religiously involved feel this deep need for wisdom and some deep meaning. I like your way of thinking. I’ve also been focusing on just trying to enjoy life. But do be careful ’cause even enjoyment can be outdone. Too much of anything isn’t a good thing- “even wisdom”(I think that’s in the “good book”).
The point on being healthy- that’s very important. I had noticed that many of the people in the religious groups I was involved in, the less liberal were less healthy- they didn’t pay much attention to diet and exercise because it corraled with vanity- or so I think. I just joined a gym last month. It has been great for helping me focus on something else, or to even just focus on nothing.
A few days ago I took a chance on a movie. “Peaceful Warrior”. Glad I did. Try it. You may find much of it is in keeping with what you are currently figuring out.
A few parts were rather odd, but overall I liked it.
A couple bits that stuck in my mind from the movie:
- Live for the moment
- Happiness is found in the journey, not in the destination
- Life is essentially three things. Paradox, humor, change. It’s a mystery you won’t totally figure out, so be ready to laugh at it and yourself, and be remember that nothing stays the same.
Josh:
FYI, I’m deleting Mel and George from articles I publish at de-converion.com. I think Paul is too busy for a lot of active monitoring, but we can keep those assholes out of any articles we publish.
Join the fight against assholes on line. Delete ‘em where you can.