We don’t really need most of the things we buy. We just imagine we’d be happier with them.

Posted on 17 March 2011 by philosiblog

…we don’t really need most of the things we buy. … We just imagine we’d be happier with them. – Virginia Postrel

The feeding frenzy at an iPhone release. Do you need it, or is it just 'shiny?'

What does that mean?
Sometimes the research on the quote is the most interesting part.  It was a quote that started with “As many a social critic has preached, …”, so it was more a meta-quote, the work of others, repeated,  paraphrased, and attributed.  Which made it all the more interesting.

In context of her article, she is cautioning against irrational exuberance, and the article tries to differentiate between sane economic gambling and allowing emotions to override logic in investments.  This carries over to the rest of us in the form of “consumerism”, or the irrational want of something that won’t be as good as we hope.  We end up being like addicts, running from one “fix” to another, never being really happy, and always hoping that the next thing we purchase will do the trick.

Why is happiness important? Continue reading →

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A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

Posted on 16 March 2011 by philosiblog

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. – Muhammad Ali

What if you'd grown up being told all Martians are bad people, but then met this little sweetie? After 30 years of nothing but nice Martians, would you still see them the same as you had in your youth?

What does that mean?
To me, this talks about how our experiences (especially when taken across 3 decades) should change our view. For a person still think the same after all that time has passed, either they were incredibly mature at twenty, or they are incredibly immature at fifty.

Most people at 20 are all about raising Cain, rebellion against the establishment, emphasizing personal freedom (often to the point of irresponsibility) and having a good time.  Most people at 50 have raised a family, have become vested (at least partially) in the system, personal responsibility and having a good time (but their definition has changed at least a little bit).

Why is personal growth important? Continue reading →

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I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Posted on 15 March 2011 by philosiblog

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan

His Airness, Michael Jordan. He learned from each failure, and tried again. And again. And again. Until he won. Six championships, five MVP awards, fourteen All-Star appearances and quite a long litany of other awards.

What does that mean?
This quote seems to imply the fruit of success grow from the ashes of failure.  How does one fail their way to success?  Well, outside politics, that is.  Well, you can if you do two things.  The first is to get back up and apply yourself again.  If you don’t do that, you’re down for good.

The second is to learn something from the failure.  If you don’t do that, you’ll repeat the same mistake again and again.  Does that make sense?  As Thomas Edison once said, he hadn’t failed, just found a bunch of ways that don’t work.  Eventually, success came.

Some people don’t know that Michael Jordan didn’t make the Varsity basketball team in High School in his Sophomore year, and how that failure fueled his drive to prove himself.  That failure to make the Varsity team was the start of his success.

Why is perseverance important? Continue reading →

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A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements.

Posted on 14 March 2011 by philosiblog

A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements. – Bo Bennett

This is the battle cry that defined a generation and changed the course of a nation. What questions are you willing to ask?

What does that mean?
To me, it means that you can talk all you want.  All that does is reinforce what you already know, what you already think, what you already believe.  Telling other people this will reinforce it in them, but will not seriously change them.  When you ask a question, the people who are listening will begin to think.  Thinking and questioning will change them far more than having the same old thing said again and again.

Why is questioning important? Continue reading →

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Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.

Posted on 13 March 2011 by philosiblog

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about. – Benjamin Franklin

What have you done to either tell the story of someone who was worthy, or done to have been that same person? How do you measure your life?

What does that mean?
To me, it means (paraphrasing here) “get up off the couch and make something of yourself” or something to that end.  Either that, or you need to write something… not like this blog, something really interesting, something worth reading.

Or do something, something really interesting, that someone would want to read about.  It’s a bit bombastic, I’ll admit, but it gets straight to the point.  Be exciting, be exceptional, be motivational, live a full life.  That’s what I get out of it, how about you?

Why is being exceptional important? Continue reading →

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Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

Posted on 12 March 2011 by philosiblog

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding. – Mohandas Gandhi

Do they correctly understand each other? From the looks of the anger and intolerance on their faces would say that they do not.

What does that mean?
While the term “correct under-standing” shows up repeatedly in Buddhist writings, I am told by a reliable source (a Zen Assistant-Priest) that the English words mean exactly what you’d expect.  So, let’s start out with a definition of the root word of understanding (understand), so as to better understand where we stand.  But seriously, thefreedictionary.com says that understanding is “a disposition to appreciate or share the feelings and thoughts of others.”

So, think for a moment.  How easy is it to appreciate anything if you are angry?  How easy is would it be to appreciate the feelings or thoughts of a group of people towards whom you are intolerant?  Doesn’t sound like it’s going to be easy to me, how about you?  What thoughts did you come up with when pondering those two questions?  I believe we can now say that we have established that, if not enemies, anger and intolerance are diametrically opposed to correct understanding.

Why is understanding important? Continue reading →

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The root of joy is gratefulness… For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

Posted on 11 March 2011 by philosiblog

The root of joy is gratefulness… For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful. – Brother David Steindl-Rast

When you are grateful, are you not also joyful?

What does that mean?
To me, it means most people have it backwards.  We are generally grateful for something joyous, rather than taking joy in a situation that we are grateful for.  Let’s look at some definitions to see if that helps out.  From thefreedictionary.com, joy is “a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment”, grateful is “affording pleasure or comfort” and gratitude is “the state of being grateful”.  So from this, I rephrase: we are not happy or content BECAUSE of having comfort, we have comfort BECAUSE we are happy or content.

To test this, ask yourself: self, can you be comfortable at the same time you are unhappy and discontented?  To me the answer is that I cannot, but nuances in personal definitions might make it a fuzzier question for you to answer.  Try to think of three or four examples of situations where the answer is yes and the same for the answer of no.  Which is harder to get the answers for?

Why is gratitude important? Continue reading →

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By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich.

Posted on 10 March 2011 by philosiblog

By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich. – Democritus

Is this what it takes for you to feel rich?

What does that mean?
Once again, we start with a quote that has been translated from another language, and many liberties will be taken by this author as to what might have been the meaning behind the original words, as translated by another.  Your mileage may vary.

Well, don’t we first have to define “rich” to start the discussion?  What do YOU need before you consider yourself rich?  Most people in the so-called first world will name an arbitrarily large sum of cash or items of value (expensive cars, a mansion or a plane).

To some people in the developing world, even the poorest of people in the first world are rich, almost beyond their imagination.  And in all regions of the world, there is a sufficient difference between the poorest and richest members of any society that some would call them rich.  A few will talk of spiritual or emotional richness, such as a good life, their health, their friends and family.

So what really makes someone “rich”?  I would argue that the definition of rich is having that which you desire.  Be it wealth, health, or happiness, humans are rarely satisfied with what we have, and seem to always want more.  This discontent has driven the best of mankind and the worst, from medical breakthroughs to devastating wars, from the greatest compassion to the most vile greed, it can be argued that this is the power that drives all of the human existence.

Why is contentment important? Continue reading →

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Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

Posted on 9 March 2011 by philosiblog

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. – Albert Einstein

Some people kill snakes as hazards to life, others keep them as pets. Would you kill it, or keep it?

What does that mean?
To me, this talks of acquiescence to greater and greater ills.  Weakness in attitude: attitude towards what?  The second half, speaking of character, points to the weakness being in moral attitude.

But how does this weakness apply to character?  My view is that the weakness in attitude means that you don’t really care. “That’s not too bad.” “It isn’t like it was (insert whatever the greatest evil for that action is).” Do you see the pattern?

It’s a first step down a slippery slope.  How firm is the line you have drawn?  Will it move as you become desensitized to the lesser form?  If so, it will likely become a problem in time.  Given our presupposition of moral weakness, the weakness of character will surely follow.

Why is character important? Continue reading →

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You won’t help shoots grow by pulling them up higher.

Posted on 8 March 2011 by philosiblog

You won’t help shoots grow by pulling them up higher. – Chinese Proverb

I HATE slow drivers! Clogging up traffic! Ooooh! I could use some patience! NOW!

What does that mean?
Shoots, being a term for young plants, need to grow to be useful.  So the sooner they grow tall, the sooner you get to harvest them.  However, as this saying states, pulling on them doesn’t make them taller, it just pulls them out of the ground.  Not exactly helpful.

To me, this points to the emotional conflict of haste vs patience.  There is nothing you can do, other than providing the necessities for the plant, such as water and nutrients, to speed the growth process.  Attempts to hasten it are doomed to failure.

Why is patience important? Continue reading →

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As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.

Posted on 7 March 2011 by philosiblog

As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. – Socrates

When was the last time you challenged your assumptions? If everyone went to college, who would build offices & homes? Who'd want a college loan for a degree they won't use? Are these not also good, honest jobs with good pay?

What does that mean?
This is probably one of the most famous quotes in all the world, as it was the one that caused Socrates to be declared by the Oracle at Delphi as the wisest man in the world.  In a classical sense, it means that pretty much everything we “know” is based on one or more assumptions.

How do you know that you are alive?  How do you know that the sky is blue?  The ancient philosophers, and Socrates in particular, could ask some very pointed questions.  You give and answer, and they question the foundation of your answer.

You say that the sky is blue because that’s the color scattered by oxygen & nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere (see Rayleigh Scattering).  Why is that?  How is it?  Who is Rayleigh?  What do you have to back that up?  Where did you hear this?  When might it be otherwise?  When you give an answer to these questions, the probing begins anew.

Why is knowledge important? Continue reading →

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You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.

Posted on 6 March 2011 by philosiblog

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. – Plato

"Who are you looking at?" Are you the same person when you are at play?

What does that mean?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t rush into friendships.  I tend to be guarded in my speech, cautious around topics that are controversial, and fairly mellow in public company.  I’m probably just the sort of person he was talking about.  Get a game of football going, and I’m a whole ‘nother person.

Why is play versus conversation important? Continue reading →

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For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

Posted on 5 March 2011 by philosiblog

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. – Vincent Van Gogh

Photo Safari - What are you dreaming of finding?

What does that mean?
What do you know with certainty?  Have you checked with Socrates about that? (that’s a joke – if you don’t get it, I’ll get around to it shortly)  More importantly, what makes you dream?  What fills your mind with wonder, with possibility, with flights of fancy?

Staring at the stars?  Staring at posters of your favorite people, favorite vacation destination, or dream job?  I would have loved to play football, but a childhood injury dashed that dream, so I dreamed some more and came up with other dreams to pursue.

Why is dreaming and wonder important? Continue reading →

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Its amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit.

Posted on 4 March 2011 by philosiblog

Its amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit. – Harry S. Truman

Yes, it's a great idea, but who is going to get credit? Should it matter?

What does that mean?
One of the things that seems to matter to important people, is the very status of being a very important person.  Tautological, yes, but true.  To some people, the idea that someone else would get the credit can cause them all kinds of emotional distress. Some even put it into action.

This could show itself as anything from outright sabotage, spreading of rumors, political maneuvering, down to a passive-aggressive foot dragging. By being the opposite, by not caring about the credit, you might just sooth the savage beast, and in doing so, gain their cooperation.

Why is credit (the giving of it, in this case) important? Continue reading →

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Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

Posted on 3 March 2011 by philosiblog

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. – Aristotle

In the wild, this is the definition of fear. In a zoo, not as much.

What does that mean?
Fear.  That’s a powerful word, if you let it be.  Think of the things you are afraid of.  Not all are “evil” in the classic good/evil viewpoint.  If we go with that, it really does fall apart pretty quickly, as to be classically evil, there must be ill intent.  Does the gravity that is part of the fear of falling have evil intent, I think not.

Instead, if we think of this evil as being an unpleasant result, I believe it fits a little better.  I am not fluent in ancient Greek, or the connotative meanings appropriate to the time, so I can’t say for sure that this is where Aristotle was going with it, but it is what I will use for this post.

So, restating: “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of an unpleasant result”

Why is the anticipation important? Continue reading →

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