ATS, when do YOU plan on 'living'?

reply to post by spellbound


You're mixing up 'Living' with simply 'existing'.

Everyone 'exists' in the now..But few people truly live..
Instead they're too busy dreaming of 'oh when I can afford that new 'BMW/JAG/SKODA/whatever then I'll BE happy'

Notice the 'BE happy'... instead of 'AM happy'.

All I know is life is a terminal illness, and we live on a tiny rock, in the middle of no where (we're in the suburbs of the milky way); fragile, temporary, meaningless. That won't stop the government/peers from telling you how to spend the only 100 years you've got, though.

reply to post by AGENT_T


Oh yeah, forgot the shallow people.

They are very forgettable.

This a great idea for a thread. S+F!

The truth of the matter is that any joy that is not from the inside of your being is going to be short-lived. Most of us are conditioned from birth to think that the only way we are going to be happy is to chase this "dream" of finding our happiness through the external of what we have and what we have achieved. This could not be further from the truth. Instead of living our actual dreams, we actually just wind up chasing the dreams that we sold all through our lives. And at the end of the day, finding that we are unsatisfied and regretful of not spending enough to learn about ourselves and figure out what we want out of our limited time here.

In other words, our one life turns into a compromise and we wind up resenting ourselves because of this. When the ocean crashes on us in our final days, we are left with the feeling of "eh, I did what I could." We never figuring of finding out too late that we don't need to spend all this time seeking outside attention and happiness, if we spent just a little more time paying attention to ourselves to find out that anything outside of ourselves is icing on the cake if we find our joy from within and learn to enjoy and appreciate every moment of our existence.

I personally think our society is in a transitional period from the old system to something different and more organic to who we are as humans. I, like many people, don't think this current system can go on for much longer. I agree with deathsleep many people seem to be reexamining what is important to them and waiting for things to change so they can move on. I believe many people have been scared alive recently, but are still scared of life. My big question is what are we going to do when our jobs are become increasingly more obsolete?

Here's one quote by Jiddu Krishnamurti that any musician can understand:

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed."

Do you embrace and appreciate the present moment or does your mind wander from thoughts of past regrets to thoughts of future anticipations? It's a lot easier to talk about "living" in the present moment than to actually put it in to practice but anyone with the will to do so and the proper guidance, be it inner or outer, can achieve this simple virtue. It feels good to stop and smell the roses. I've always said if I could speak one sentence that the whole universe would hear it would be, "stop for a minute.". Because perhaps it would do us all some good if we took a break and just breathed. I'll stop this post before I hijack the thread though. Be well.

A lot of wisdom in this thread from other posters by the way.



[edit on 27-4-2009 by Redeemer]

Originally posted by Redeemer
I've always said if I could speak one sentence that the whole universe would hear it would be, "stop for a minute.". Because perhaps it would do us all some good if we took a break and just breathed.

So finely put,I had to repeat it.

You can get so tied up in work stresses that it soon becomes the 'norm' for you.
Stopping and taking a breath is like 'pressing the reset button'.

Afterwards,you see just how manic you let your life become,without even realising it.
It's a real eye-opener.

Well it's a nice day out,so I'm going out to play.

Originally posted by spellbound
reply to post by serbsta

 

I don't get this at all - live in the now That is what we all do. And living in the now does not involve thinking/wishing/hoping- just living.

You dont think that at this exact moment in your life you're doing more then simply existing? I would seriously consider the fact that you are at least using some thought process to post on this board? (no sarcasm)

reply to post by Blanca Rose


You know what, I want to answer this in the best way I know how to.

That life as we're allowed to see it from childhood, is the DICTIONARY definition of an oxy-moron.

"Don't lie"

(but you find out the most powerful men/women on earth are the best liars)

"Don't cheat"

(the most powerful and successful men/women on earth are the cheaters)


"Don't steal"

(apparently stealing is subjective)


"Have respect for others and don't hate"

(unless it's in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Palestine, or . . .)




This, is what I think has happened between childhood and adulthood, the fact that we're taught from day one to value principles that in practice will never make any sense in this world, UNLESS of course, someone decides to actually think those principles outweigh the "benefits" of the power hungry.


AB1

"The Things You Own End up Owning You"

Someone had to say it

All i know is that I’m going to follow what i always wanted to do, already dropped out of what i was doing previously, to follow my dream, sincerely never cared too much about what people said about what my future should be, basically get any job that makes you win big cash, and live what you American´s call, the "American dream" the twisted exported version of it by the media.

Society is built upon how you have explained it, at least up until now.

That is not an entirely bad thing either. The problem is not getting the promotions and the money, its realizing that it will always be the simple things that make you happy.

Friends, extended family, and close family.

Without those, who is there to show of your goodies to? Who is there to spend time with them?

Speaking for myself, I have a vision of becoming "mildly" rich just to be able to go on more activities with my circle. Even if others are strapped for cash, I will be able to fork some of my own out and have a good time with everyone.

I would like to explore the world, while at the same time be able to have a nice comfortable home in a city somewhere.

You still have a great point, speaking for most people today. Many citizens live in a unique routine that shrink their life into a ball.

This is an example.
It is dinner time. Guess what I wanted? Some goetta www.goetta.com... ...I swear no one has ever heard of this food. Best stuff ever sliced thin and cooked on the skillet) and sausage. People look at me and ask "THAT'S NOT A DINNER FOOD!"

It is living outside of the routine which has helped me enjoy life so much. My goal in life is just to be happy...and whatever ensues after that so be it.
I do not want a million dollar house (it sure would be nice), or a Ferrari (oh man...), but I want to help better those around me the best I can with my knowledge.

In the end though, we each have our own state of mind, and it may not look like it to you, but everyone lives in their own way...even if it does look boring to us.