The purpose of this mini paper is to outline my basic philosophy of life and emphasize what is important to me and why? I will explain the basic principles that guide my life. In addition, I will highlight the meaning, purpose, good life, and future goals reflected in my personal philosophy of life.
The philosophy of life of any individual is a heavy subject and at an age when most
folks are retired I find that life is still exciting and fun. As one of the oldest graduate
students in your program I find this an interesting topic. Since two-thirds of my life is
over I cannot nail down only one philosophy of life as sufficient to explain the way I live
or have lived my life. There is too much water that has traveled under the bridge and too
many life experiences to narrow this subject down to one philosophy. The ten
philosophies that guide my life are as follows:
1. ITS NOT OVER TILL ITS OVER
2. DEAL WITH IT
3. EACH NEW DAY IS A GIFT
4. LEARNING IS A LIFE TIME PROCESS
5. IF YOU HAVE DONE IT BEFORE, ITS OKAY TO DO IT BETTER NEXT
TIME –(EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE T-SHIRT)
6. RULES ARE ONLY GUIDELINES
7. WHAT WORKS FOR YOU MAY NOT WORK FOR ME
8. THE ONE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINS
9. LIVING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE
10. MAKE A FRIEND
My spouse and I both have deep personal religious convictions and feel that life is a struggle with a reward at the end of life on this planet. She is a Buddhist and I am a Christian. Hence, since there is only one supreme being they must have misnamed one of them and we should meet in the middle somewhere when living as we know it is over. However, its not over till its over and one must march on and deal with each daily problem with the hope that each new day will present us with a gift of new possibilities!
Sometimes I feel as if I am overburden with information overload with the advent of new technologies and advances in communication. This makes learning new things mandatory if one wants to continue living a useful and productive life. Therefore, learning is a lifetime process and if you come across something you have not done before you should approach it with the objective of confronting and experiencing it without fear and trepidation. If you have done or seen it before, its okay to do it better next time (even if you have the t-shirt).
Life in general has too many rules about what you can and cannot do. I prefer to define rules as only guidelines and use these guidelines as what works for you may not work for me, but anything is possible. The most exciting part of life is experiencing and experimenting with the possibilities that life grants us. Throw away all those stupid rules and experiment and experience life possibilities. Guide your life, but stay within the lines of possibilities.
Enjoyment of life is a requirement for a successful and happy journey on this planet. Sometimes I feel that life is just another task that I just do not want to do, but must in order to reach a longer termed goal. Keep your focus on long term goals or daily tasks will overwhelm and discourage you. Do things out of character once in a while, but not to extremes. Probe new experiences and try new things. Look for new “STUFF” and keep the “OLD STUFF” that is beneficial in your life. Living well is the best revenge! Try buying a few new toys that make you happy and give potential to new interests and hobbies. The one who dies with the most toys may win this struggle called life.
MAKE A FRIEND! Although most people eventually disappoint me, there is always a chance that a new friend can be found. If that new friend is found it can enhance you life and foster friendships in the future. REMEMBER ITS NOT OVER TILL ITS OVER!