![]() ![]() Through action we acquire skills instead of "things." These possessions come to life not in the having but the doing itself. To seek one's Being in doing is more fulfilling and more true. At the end of life all our possessions pass into other hands, just as our Being itself passes into the memories of others. We give ourselves a property qualification. Our need to acquire "things" and to surround ourselves with mementos of the past is an attempt to Be someone, a person with an identity and a history. This flight of life is slowed by Having and Doing, but stopped by Being. It is hard to be a shadow flitting across the face of the sun and disappearing from sight. The alternative is to live without longing for the unattainable. At this point philosophy ends and religion begins. Despair follows the realization that a certain conception of happiness is unattainable in this world. Comparing reality to happiness that is out of reach can lead to depression and sometimes even suicide. Maybe if people forgot about happiness with a capital they would be much happier. Only after the golden age has passed is it recognized as having been made of gold, somewhat as in the old lament that youth is wasted on the young. It is sometimes hard to realize that you are living through the good times, the happy times, until they are over. However, a little reflection reveals that for most people happiness is matter of moments, and most always in the past. But is it? If that were the case, why do people hurt themselves? Why do they make war against one another and bring unspeakable terror on each other's heads? Why do they commit murder, suicide or find slower ways to kill themselves? Isn't it because they all want to be happy? It seems to be a given that people want to be happy. When you start listening for the phrases of forevermore, you will hear them in many places, but if they are just fictions, then why do we need them so much? It is only because our lives are so short that we imagine that there are some things that never change. The artists and the generals will be forgotten. The sea will dry up or freeze, the river change it's course. These are fictions, but endearing ones and enduring ones. And when people speak of their children as a gift to the future, there is an idea of forevermore in the back of their minds. Also, when we hear of the eternal renown of great poets, artists, philosophers, or political or military leaders, we think they will be remembered forever. When the lover pledges love that will last until the mountains run into the sea, we are to think that they never will. Especially where love is concerned, the songs sing of it outlasting the sea and the mountains. Metaphors of forever abound in our common language. People may build up towns in the mountains and resorts by the beach, but compared to comings and goings of humans and their creations, the sea and the mountains are forever. Nevertheless, the mountains in whose shadow you were born, or the ocean in which you swam, remain much as they were. It is an interesting question whether we could learn it by ourselves, without any role models to guide us.Įveryone knows that things change. We can learn from those who have gone before us, and, if we are lucky, from a few of those now living who display the art of living. Since we live by nature, but act through character, there can be an art of living-well or badly, of making the best or worst of life. These character traits, as Aristotle said, come to us not by nature, but by training and habit. The Greeks called this "sophrosuné", soundness of mind, discretion, moderation in feelings and actions, and self-control. It is to be in the habit of doing and saying the right things in the right manner, with good timing and a realistic appraisal of the circumstances. To live artfully is to live thoughtfully, act justly, and to speak the truth, recognizing what is of genuine value, and ignoring what is trivial. Possessions and financial successes may not prevent profound unhappiness for an individual, failure in personal relationships, or unawareness of the beauties of the physical world. The art of living is distinguished from all the trappings of an outwardly successful life. This includes trying to change what can be changed for the better, and not to lament, but accept, what can not be changed. This art is not just a way of thinking, not just maintaining a positive attitude, though that is important it is an art of finding a path through life that avoids or turns aside what is bad and makes something better of it.Ĭircumstances vary, but it is possible to live artfully in all of them. ![]() It comprehends how to work with whatever comes one's way and make the best of the challenges, joys and setbacks that come with living and dying. The art of living is a skill in negotiating the opportunities and pitfalls of life. ![]()
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