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madli · 01-31-2009, 07:31 PM

Well, this is my first post on this forum - have been mostly lurking through Kramus' account. As I'm procrastinating from my work doing cancer research and treating cancer patients, I couldn't resist this thread topic and thought I'd post for fun. Sorry this is a little long-winded - my tendency to do so is why I haven't posted before.

dalnett22, I think you're confusing activities that have meaning to you, with activities that are "real". I do understand what you're saying and, in my more "observing from the outside" states of mind, have had exactly the same thoughts. Cancer patients often also say this - after a life-threatening illness has awakened them to the preciousness of life, many actually experience what we call post-traumatic growth. They transform their lives, end bad relationships, change jobs - devote themselves to activities that are more meaningful to them.

I suspect you are trying to do the same - figure out what in life is meaningful to you. Activities that don't improve humanity (like masturbation, watching TV, playing video games) aren't meaningful to you because they don't seem to achieve anything real. That's fine and a perfectly valid reason for not engaging in those activities if that bothers you. I remember once jogging past a farmer in the country, and he looked at me and shook his head in a way I knew meant that he was laughing at my pointlessly running up and down the road to expend energy, rather than raking hay. It wasn't a very "real" activity, but I was training for a marathon and it had great meaning for me.

The thing is, if music is your pleasure and your gift, you don't have to think of it as a meaningless activity. Music is a form of communication, as ngdawg said, a form of therapy for many, a benefit and improvement of the human condition for all. From personal experience, I would say that both a career in music and pursuing a PhD take essentially 100% of your time if you want to be successful - both contribute to humanity, both are fun. The only question is which is more meaningful to you.

So with all the great response in this thread, have you been convinced to keep having fun

?

01-31-2009, 07:31 PM	#29 (permalink)
madli Upright	Well, this is my first post on this forum - have been mostly lurking through Kramus' account. As I'm procrastinating from my work doing cancer research and treating cancer patients, I couldn't resist this thread topic and thought I'd post for fun. Sorry this is a little long-winded - my tendency to do so is why I haven't posted before. dalnett22, I think you're confusing activities that have meaning to you, with activities that are "real". I do understand what you're saying and, in my more "observing from the outside" states of mind, have had exactly the same thoughts. Cancer patients often also say this - after a life-threatening illness has awakened them to the preciousness of life, many actually experience what we call post-traumatic growth. They transform their lives, end bad relationships, change jobs - devote themselves to activities that are more meaningful to them. I suspect you are trying to do the same - figure out what in life is meaningful to you. Activities that don't improve humanity (like masturbation, watching TV, playing video games) aren't meaningful to you because they don't seem to achieve anything real. That's fine and a perfectly valid reason for not engaging in those activities if that bothers you. I remember once jogging past a farmer in the country, and he looked at me and shook his head in a way I knew meant that he was laughing at my pointlessly running up and down the road to expend energy, rather than raking hay. It wasn't a very "real" activity, but I was training for a marathon and it had great meaning for me. The thing is, if music is your pleasure and your gift, you don't have to think of it as a meaningless activity. Music is a form of communication, as ngdawg said, a form of therapy for many, a benefit and improvement of the human condition for all. From personal experience, I would say that both a career in music and pursuing a PhD take essentially 100% of your time if you want to be successful - both contribute to humanity, both are fun. The only question is which is more meaningful to you. So with all the great response in this thread, have you been convinced to keep having fun ?