Well.
Here we are, another year.
Here in Ohio, we're experiencing our first significant snowfall of 2019.
I have to admit that it looks beautiful. Something about white snow covering everything the eye can see is refreshing.
It's the frame of mind of renewal that brings me to my purpose for writing this blog.
Most mornings, I wake up and lay in bed. My fiancée needs to get to work, so she's up soon. I dawdle on my phone, checking Facebook, not for anything, but just to pass the time.
We eat breakfast and she goes off to work. She's new at her job, but she's getting the hang of it. I move from laying in bed to sitting on the couch, not for anything, but just to pass the time.
Star Trek: The Original Series is the show I'm watching right now, but it's not just Star Trek I watch. I watch YouTube videos about video games I'll never play, Vines I'll forget in seconds, and motivational hacks I'll never use. I'm not spending my time. I'm wasting it.
We get about 86,000 seconds a day. I spend about 25,000 of those asleep. I spend about 32,000 of those seconds at work. That leaves me with a balance of about 29,000 seconds I do what with? Sometimes important things, sometimes ridiculously unimportant things.
That's a problem for a number of reasons beyond the obvious fact that I'm upset with the numbers:
I also believe that while we have a purpose, it's discoverable, not innately known to us from birth. We need to go through personal investigation, trial and error and reasoning to figure out what it is. If my 29,0000 seconds are spent doing things that distract me from this central concern, I'll never have the time to figure out what my purpose is.
And sure, I can live life without a clear purpose, but that comes at the cost a few other things I'll discuss below.
It's defined by human activity, it has the ability to retract, and it's--importantly-- not a given. This means it's not "progress" to eat a meal. Cows eat meals. Dogs eat meals. Salmon eat meals. Humans have a choice: what meal to eat. And it can be "progress" to choose a meal that's well-balanced and eaten at the right time.
If I spend my time doing things that don't make me a better person, I'm not progressing. That's a real possibility, since I believe it is something that is in my control.
All animals can do destructive or creative things, harmful things or helpful things. But humans are uniquely capable because we can assess our actions as having moral outcomes.
Psychologically, we can project far further in the future than any other living creature out there. Our lives are biologically governed by cycles, but we have surpassed those cycles in a great many ways.
Case in point: it's not historically accurate to say we have always had large swaths of the human population who would be awake and active and most technically productive to their society from the hours of 1 PM and 10 PM. But thanks to electricity, we can have people in our world who work my job and are expected to be skilled at it.
If I don't take the responsibility I have as a human and as a person to be a better person who lives a life of purpose seriously, I will be no morally or psychologically better than anyone's pet goldfish. I, quite literally, will be refusing the mandate of humanity.
So, elected officials DO need to consider their constituents because those constituents will donate to the official and support the policies of the official; managers DO need to consider their employees because those employees will perform better and cause the business to succeed; and a husband/wife/mother/father DOES need to consider their family because those family members will respond to the consideration with love, affection, and good returns.
It doesn't do to sit on the couch and not be a valuable member of my smallest society (my fiancé and our two cats). Once I'm married (and since I value them enough, even right now), my chief responsibility is to my health and wellbeing, but also to maintaining each of theirs.
To do that, I can't be hedonistically consuming garbage. That won't help anyone's goals! I have to take seriously my choice to make each valuable person a member of my world and live accordingly.
There we are: 4 big reasons why I need to stop sitting around doing nothing so much and starting (metaphorically) standing up and doing something more.
This blog is something. It's not much, but it's something. It's a voice. A public voice. One that's linked to my actual identity. One I can't significantly hide behind.
It's not anonymous; it's me. It's not impersonal; it's me. It's not a mouthpiece for other's opinions on the world. They are my opinions, adopted or created, at my expense.
So, 2019, will I change at all?
Will I end 2019, not being a perfect person, but being more proud of who I am?
Will I end 2019 being proud of the challenges I took on, the progress I've made, the responsibilities I've handled?
Will I end 2019 with a smile at what I've done this year, even if it wasn't all great?
Will I end 2019 with the biggest lesson of all: that, when you're living your life according to your values, you don't have to convince yourself, but only live them?
We'll see.
Here we are, another year.
Here in Ohio, we're experiencing our first significant snowfall of 2019.
I have to admit that it looks beautiful. Something about white snow covering everything the eye can see is refreshing.
It's the frame of mind of renewal that brings me to my purpose for writing this blog.
Most mornings, I wake up and lay in bed. My fiancée needs to get to work, so she's up soon. I dawdle on my phone, checking Facebook, not for anything, but just to pass the time.
We eat breakfast and she goes off to work. She's new at her job, but she's getting the hang of it. I move from laying in bed to sitting on the couch, not for anything, but just to pass the time.
Star Trek: The Original Series is the show I'm watching right now, but it's not just Star Trek I watch. I watch YouTube videos about video games I'll never play, Vines I'll forget in seconds, and motivational hacks I'll never use. I'm not spending my time. I'm wasting it.
We get about 86,000 seconds a day. I spend about 25,000 of those asleep. I spend about 32,000 of those seconds at work. That leaves me with a balance of about 29,000 seconds I do what with? Sometimes important things, sometimes ridiculously unimportant things.
That's a problem for a number of reasons beyond the obvious fact that I'm upset with the numbers:
1. It means I can't clarify what the hell I'm supposed to be doing here:
I do believe fervently that human beings have a purpose. It's unique to each person and based on the intersection of what they are good at, what they enjoy doing and what can make the world a better place for themselves and others.I also believe that while we have a purpose, it's discoverable, not innately known to us from birth. We need to go through personal investigation, trial and error and reasoning to figure out what it is. If my 29,0000 seconds are spent doing things that distract me from this central concern, I'll never have the time to figure out what my purpose is.
And sure, I can live life without a clear purpose, but that comes at the cost a few other things I'll discuss below.
2. It makes me a worse person:
I also firmly believe that progress is not innate in society or in individuals. There's a difference between the concept of "progress" and the natural biological functioning of a human. Progress is, for one, an intangible.It's defined by human activity, it has the ability to retract, and it's--importantly-- not a given. This means it's not "progress" to eat a meal. Cows eat meals. Dogs eat meals. Salmon eat meals. Humans have a choice: what meal to eat. And it can be "progress" to choose a meal that's well-balanced and eaten at the right time.
If I spend my time doing things that don't make me a better person, I'm not progressing. That's a real possibility, since I believe it is something that is in my control.
3. I'm avoiding responsibility:
Another belief of mine is the capacity of humans to be responsible for their actions, morally and psychologically. On the moral side, this is a no-brainer, since only humans have developed moral systems. We're the only ones who can do evil things or noble things.All animals can do destructive or creative things, harmful things or helpful things. But humans are uniquely capable because we can assess our actions as having moral outcomes.
Psychologically, we can project far further in the future than any other living creature out there. Our lives are biologically governed by cycles, but we have surpassed those cycles in a great many ways.
Case in point: it's not historically accurate to say we have always had large swaths of the human population who would be awake and active and most technically productive to their society from the hours of 1 PM and 10 PM. But thanks to electricity, we can have people in our world who work my job and are expected to be skilled at it.
If I don't take the responsibility I have as a human and as a person to be a better person who lives a life of purpose seriously, I will be no morally or psychologically better than anyone's pet goldfish. I, quite literally, will be refusing the mandate of humanity.
4. It takes the wrong point of view:
Clearly, any failings I have are coming from what I believe about the world. Here's another belief: the goal of the individual is their own prosperity. The goal of society is to each constituent's prosperity. When you are at the top of a hierarchy, whatever that is, you have the responsibility to promote the outcome of prosperity, peace and good living to each member of the hierarchy because of reciprocal feedback.So, elected officials DO need to consider their constituents because those constituents will donate to the official and support the policies of the official; managers DO need to consider their employees because those employees will perform better and cause the business to succeed; and a husband/wife/mother/father DOES need to consider their family because those family members will respond to the consideration with love, affection, and good returns.
It doesn't do to sit on the couch and not be a valuable member of my smallest society (my fiancé and our two cats). Once I'm married (and since I value them enough, even right now), my chief responsibility is to my health and wellbeing, but also to maintaining each of theirs.
To do that, I can't be hedonistically consuming garbage. That won't help anyone's goals! I have to take seriously my choice to make each valuable person a member of my world and live accordingly.
There we are: 4 big reasons why I need to stop sitting around doing nothing so much and starting (metaphorically) standing up and doing something more.
This blog is something. It's not much, but it's something. It's a voice. A public voice. One that's linked to my actual identity. One I can't significantly hide behind.
It's not anonymous; it's me. It's not impersonal; it's me. It's not a mouthpiece for other's opinions on the world. They are my opinions, adopted or created, at my expense.
So, 2019, will I change at all?
Will I end 2019, not being a perfect person, but being more proud of who I am?
Will I end 2019 being proud of the challenges I took on, the progress I've made, the responsibilities I've handled?
Will I end 2019 with a smile at what I've done this year, even if it wasn't all great?
Will I end 2019 with the biggest lesson of all: that, when you're living your life according to your values, you don't have to convince yourself, but only live them?
We'll see.
Comments
Post a Comment