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levite · 01-07-2009, 10:53 PM

Yes.

I took a long time working on myself and my issues, so that my interaction with life wasn't clogged and blurred by unresolved psychological crap getting in the way without my being properly aware of it.

I decided on what really meant something to me. What would I want to remember in the last moments of my life if I died in my bed at 100, and what would I want others to remember about me? What would I run into a burning building to save? What do I need-- not want, not enjoy, not prefer, but need-- to be content, and why do I feel that way? What would I see myself doing if I had a job that I felt was meaningful and satisfying and made me want to go to work? And so on, and so forth.

In the end, what I personally decided was that what was important to me was my people, my family, my friends, and my culture. Second to that level of importance was beauty, art, spirituality, and social change. And I decided that time was more important than money. So I made sure to arrange my life in such a way that my chosen profession serves my people and my culture, and also promotes social change and spirituality. My time outside of work is mostly spent with friends and family, doing simple enjoyable things. I spend a lot of time reading and cooking and hanging out with people I love over delicious meals and good wines, going to theater and movies and museums, singing and listening to music and taking in sunsets and beautiful days on the beach, learning and praying and meditating, and talking about the things I find interesting and important-- both with friends and family, and also with some interesting and cool people online!

I stopped worrying too much about things I can't control, like the future. And I tried to worry less about the things I could control, because life isn't all about control. Life is about always being, not always doing. And I learned to live in the moment. Life is just a series of moments. Don't strive to alter the flow of years and months in your life, alter the moments. Make them count. Pay attention to them. Savor them. Then the days and weeks and years will take care of themselves.

I did these things through meditation, clear dreaming, prayer, contemplation, education, and introspection. Anyone can do likewise.

01-07-2009, 10:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
levite Minion of Joss Location: The Windy City	Yes. I took a long time working on myself and my issues, so that my interaction with life wasn't clogged and blurred by unresolved psychological crap getting in the way without my being properly aware of it. I decided on what really meant something to me. What would I want to remember in the last moments of my life if I died in my bed at 100, and what would I want others to remember about me? What would I run into a burning building to save? What do I need-- not want, not enjoy, not prefer, but need-- to be content, and why do I feel that way? What would I see myself doing if I had a job that I felt was meaningful and satisfying and made me want to go to work? And so on, and so forth. In the end, what I personally decided was that what was important to me was my people, my family, my friends, and my culture. Second to that level of importance was beauty, art, spirituality, and social change. And I decided that time was more important than money. So I made sure to arrange my life in such a way that my chosen profession serves my people and my culture, and also promotes social change and spirituality. My time outside of work is mostly spent with friends and family, doing simple enjoyable things. I spend a lot of time reading and cooking and hanging out with people I love over delicious meals and good wines, going to theater and movies and museums, singing and listening to music and taking in sunsets and beautiful days on the beach, learning and praying and meditating, and talking about the things I find interesting and important-- both with friends and family, and also with some interesting and cool people online! I stopped worrying too much about things I can't control, like the future. And I tried to worry less about the things I could control, because life isn't all about control. Life is about always being, not always doing. And I learned to live in the moment. Life is just a series of moments. Don't strive to alter the flow of years and months in your life, alter the moments. Make them count. Pay attention to them. Savor them. Then the days and weeks and years will take care of themselves. I did these things through meditation, clear dreaming, prayer, contemplation, education, and introspection. Anyone can do likewise. __________________ Dull sublunary lovers love, Whose soul is sense, cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove That thing which elemented it. (From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)