Does anyone else think that life is too tame? I am of course speaking for the middle class here but it just seems to me that we concern ourselves with so much that doesn't really mean anything. I'm not suggesting that life would be better if we had to fight rabid carnivorous beavers for a twig so that we could cook our evening meal of drowned squirrel with a rock salt crust (minus the salt bit). Even in South Africa, where I have personally been accosted twice, it just seems that we concern ourselves with incredibly meaningless things. I'm sure that I'm as prone to this as anyone else, but if course I'm blind to it because if I realised that my particular foibles were meaningless then they wouldn't have meaning. I think that before we decide what is meaningless, we have to define what is meaningful.
Personally, I think the following things are necessary in no particular order:
1. Continued existence
Duh. I've heard people spout on and on (and I'm not talking about goths exclusively) about how meaningless existence is, I used to be one of them. As the Hotel Roz Commons keeps telling us: "Life is what you make of it." (sorry about the spelling Mike)
Let me put that in a slightly less cheesy way: Get off your arse you lazy git, its YOUR job to give your life meaning. YOURS
Which brings me onto the next point:
2. Something to do
Well you can't just stare at the wall all day, why be alive then? Unless you have a particular interest in walls. Personally, my meaning lies in experience. I'm out to experience as much as life has to offer and as much as I'm comfortable experiencing. Even a few things that I'm not comfortable experiencing. Basically I'm in it for the ride; and as I mentioned before, I would rather it was a roller-coaster. With lead-ups and moments of calm to be sure, but just so that the ups and downs are put in starker relief.
3. Someone to do
That's a bit coarse I know, and no it doesn't summarise my view of relationships with the opposite sex, I just thought it was a cute lead on from no.2. You should know me better than that by now. But... back to our regularly scheduled broadcast. Point number three is basically a part of point 2 but it's so important that I think it deserves special mention. All the cliches are cliches for a reason, I'm not going to get into them but I think you take my meaning. Its always more fun when you have someone in the seat next to you. Especially if they scream like a girl. =P
And, well, that's basically it. In my not so humble opinion, that's everything you need. Existence for the sake of it.
Things you don't need are legion:
Friends who, in the final analysis, make your world a less pleasant place.
Opinions of other people. If they're not supporting you then to hell with them (this excludes positive criticism and any instance that involves the torture of animals or small children, well... animals anyway)
I would say shoes but I know some people whose happiness is inextricably linked to shoes, they should just ask themselves what is more important. Prioritise.
And ladies and gents, safety is overrated. I suspect that this is the point that is going to receive the most contention, but I think its true. Its better if the risks you take aren't life threatening (see point one) but if there is a risk involved things look brighter. That includes risk of injury, risk to your ego, risk to your financial status, etc..
So, I recommend doing crazy and unwise things. It's more fun!
That probably explains a lot to people about the way I am if they didn't get it before. Oh well, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't reveal this much about myself but where would the fun be in that?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
... testing, testing ... is this thing on?
you have a point.
revealing things about yourself can be hazardous... but it can also be very liberating... I believe that you at least know what I'm talking about.
Three steps? what do you mean about three steps? Last time anyone checked there was only that 2nd one. Get off your ass and do something, anything and the rest will follow. It is not doing anything thats the problem. Although exposing yourself in any other way than this is going to be problematic. Very problematic.
I guess I spend so much of my day at work dealing with the miseries of other people's lives that I have by neccessity learned to appreciate my own.
To sum it up in a somewhat cliched way: A life lived in fear is a life half lived. It is our duty as some of the most priveleged people in the world to live our lives to the fullest.
I agree with a lot of what you said except for the bit about other people's opinions. I think we do need them. I think we need them because we need challenge, for one thing. For another thing, nobody possesses the whole truth, and it is therefore important that we participate in discussion.
This argument will be more forceful for those who believe that truth is important (I do. I mean, quality of life and all that), but it will still hold for people who just believe in being pushed which, from the sounds of it, would definitely include you, Conrad.
Post a Comment