An ancient Greek proverb goes like - "An unexamined life is not worth living.". Let us understand what this quote means and what it implies so that we can improve our lives.
This quote was uttered by Socrates, one of the most famous Philosopher in his era, and even now. When he said it, he meant that a life which isn't questioned and scrutinized and analyzed isn't worth living. Now what does this mean? Does it mean that if we don't examine our lives, our life isn't worth living? No!!!!!
There is a branch of Philosophy known as Stoicism, which is a great line of thought to follow. Here is a small crash course on Stoicism for the enthusiasts. Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic. Stoicism highlights that nothing in the world is good or bad, it is just our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that make it good or bad.
Here is an example of the statement that nothing in the world is inherently good or bad, it is just our reaction to it that makes it good or bad. Imagine yourself walking into an ice cream parlor with your friend. You both have varied tastes. So, you order your favorite Dark Chocolate Ice cream and your friend orders a Butterscotch ice cream. You absolutely dislike butterscotch and think it is an awful flavor. You friend on the other hand doesn't find chocolate to be a good flavor to eat as an ice cream.
Now, if you look at the above scenario, neither the chocolate, nor the butterscotch ice cream is good or bad. Someone likes chocolate and someone likes butterscotch. This does not mean that chocolate ice cream is bad, it just means that YOU don't like it. As simple as that! Just because you think something is bad, doesn't make it bad. Just because you and many people like something doesn't make it good.
Now, what does this have to do with the quote - "An unexamined life is not worth living.". Right. So, please bear with me for just a little longer and I promise all of this will make sense. A stoic is someone who sees life "As is", without the filter of their emotions, thoughts, and feelings. This might seem unhuman or impossible to certain extent, but this is closer to the truth than anything else. Now, you might wonder what thoughts, emotions, and feelings have to do with seeing life as is, right? I am glad you ask that question. Let us have a small detour again :-p
When you are feeling angry, isn't your world view a little different? Even small things irritate you more. When you are happy, you tend to be more enthusiastic and bubbly and you tend to ignore the same small things that would have agitated you a while ago. Now, imagine when you are sad, your world view is different. All of this is just to bring you closer to the fact that because of your changing emotions, you see the same thing differently. The way you see things is different based on your feelings and this can create a lot of problems because that is not how things really are. Once again, just a small story to illustrate this.
You and your friend (the one who loves butterscotch) go to a fun park one fine day. There, you see a big wheel which spins super fast. On seeing that, you get a weird feeling in your stomach and you are scared to even see the ride. Your butterscotch ice cream loving friend on the other hand is super excited to see the wheel and wants a ride immediately! You stand there in shock looking at this weird creature you call your friend. Why is it that you feel scared seeing a ride and your friend feels joy? The answer to this is your thoughts and emotions behind the event.
When you see the big wheel, you feel scared because you fear that you might fall off. Your alien friend on the other hand feels joy because he thinks about the amazing butterfly feeling he will feel in his stomach. So you see, your feelings, thoughts, and emotions warp the real view of reality and show you something that isn't there. Alright, now, let's put everything together.
By examining life, Socrates meant that we should examine things for what they are. We humans have the habit of labeling everything as good or bad, white or black, lovable person or not lovable person, mine and yours, etc. So, we should constantly examine our own behaviors, pattern of thoughts and beliefs etc. without any "filters". Always examine your life as to if what you think is right or wrong, is it really so? Always question yourself because you might be lying to yourself and this would push you in the wrong direction, which would make life not worth living.
Oh God, Phewwwww. Take a sigh of relief, drink some water, take a pee break and relax now that the tough part is over. Now, let us just revise what we just read so that you can start implementing this instead of just masturbating on the thought that you are so wise and you know so much about life. Knowledge is useless if it is not implemented. So, here we go!
This quote was uttered by Socrates, one of the most famous Philosopher in his era, and even now. When he said it, he meant that a life which isn't questioned and scrutinized and analyzed isn't worth living. Now what does this mean? Does it mean that if we don't examine our lives, our life isn't worth living? No!!!!!
There is a branch of Philosophy known as Stoicism, which is a great line of thought to follow. Here is a small crash course on Stoicism for the enthusiasts. Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic. Stoicism highlights that nothing in the world is good or bad, it is just our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that make it good or bad.
Here is an example of the statement that nothing in the world is inherently good or bad, it is just our reaction to it that makes it good or bad. Imagine yourself walking into an ice cream parlor with your friend. You both have varied tastes. So, you order your favorite Dark Chocolate Ice cream and your friend orders a Butterscotch ice cream. You absolutely dislike butterscotch and think it is an awful flavor. You friend on the other hand doesn't find chocolate to be a good flavor to eat as an ice cream.
Now, if you look at the above scenario, neither the chocolate, nor the butterscotch ice cream is good or bad. Someone likes chocolate and someone likes butterscotch. This does not mean that chocolate ice cream is bad, it just means that YOU don't like it. As simple as that! Just because you think something is bad, doesn't make it bad. Just because you and many people like something doesn't make it good.
Now, what does this have to do with the quote - "An unexamined life is not worth living.". Right. So, please bear with me for just a little longer and I promise all of this will make sense. A stoic is someone who sees life "As is", without the filter of their emotions, thoughts, and feelings. This might seem unhuman or impossible to certain extent, but this is closer to the truth than anything else. Now, you might wonder what thoughts, emotions, and feelings have to do with seeing life as is, right? I am glad you ask that question. Let us have a small detour again :-p
When you are feeling angry, isn't your world view a little different? Even small things irritate you more. When you are happy, you tend to be more enthusiastic and bubbly and you tend to ignore the same small things that would have agitated you a while ago. Now, imagine when you are sad, your world view is different. All of this is just to bring you closer to the fact that because of your changing emotions, you see the same thing differently. The way you see things is different based on your feelings and this can create a lot of problems because that is not how things really are. Once again, just a small story to illustrate this.
You and your friend (the one who loves butterscotch) go to a fun park one fine day. There, you see a big wheel which spins super fast. On seeing that, you get a weird feeling in your stomach and you are scared to even see the ride. Your butterscotch ice cream loving friend on the other hand is super excited to see the wheel and wants a ride immediately! You stand there in shock looking at this weird creature you call your friend. Why is it that you feel scared seeing a ride and your friend feels joy? The answer to this is your thoughts and emotions behind the event.
When you see the big wheel, you feel scared because you fear that you might fall off. Your alien friend on the other hand feels joy because he thinks about the amazing butterfly feeling he will feel in his stomach. So you see, your feelings, thoughts, and emotions warp the real view of reality and show you something that isn't there. Alright, now, let's put everything together.
By examining life, Socrates meant that we should examine things for what they are. We humans have the habit of labeling everything as good or bad, white or black, lovable person or not lovable person, mine and yours, etc. So, we should constantly examine our own behaviors, pattern of thoughts and beliefs etc. without any "filters". Always examine your life as to if what you think is right or wrong, is it really so? Always question yourself because you might be lying to yourself and this would push you in the wrong direction, which would make life not worth living.
Oh God, Phewwwww. Take a sigh of relief, drink some water, take a pee break and relax now that the tough part is over. Now, let us just revise what we just read so that you can start implementing this instead of just masturbating on the thought that you are so wise and you know so much about life. Knowledge is useless if it is not implemented. So, here we go!
How to Implement this information
We learnt that nothing is good or bad, nothing is right or wrong, it is just our thoughts, feelings, and emotions that make it so.
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