E MEANING OF LIFE
%% hat is the meaning
vv
of life?" my friend
at work asked, a lit
tle shopworn and homeward
bound on a Thursday afternoon. I
began to react with the word
"sex," but I stopped.
It was just too easy and
obvious. I have a lot of respect
for my kindred-spirited friend,
and in light of our workload and
some personal situations of mine,
I decided his rhetorical question
deserved a genuine answer.
Ah, the timing of the
Universe. For Christmas I'd
received a small Native American
philosophy book about "agree
ments" we make with ourselves.
Last week, another co-worker
gave me an original 1937 copy of
"The Importance of Living" by
Lin Yutang, a Chinese-American
philosopher, and I've been
absorbing both between design
jobs and at lunch. I recently got
back into Tai Chi after a long
break from a frustrated begin
ning, and suddenly it's working; I
probably was not ready before.
So, with my newly developing
sense of existentialism, I e
mailed my friend at Mac Station
8 a vague resemblance of the fol
lowing culmination. It's a "Cliff
English majors taL
Notes" of my quest for the place our fears, we instinctively
note).Whenever you doubt your
meaning of life. Not everyone will grav
y y itate toward like-minded
relate and some ma total) dis
self, remember those who appre-
company ei .
ec
ciate you and believe in yourself companions whose
agree. I think it's worth contem- trifies us with the ability to dif
plation.th
for em.
fuse the negative karma of those
E I never find truth and
Everything changes. • "rh ere are those who
who don't. We develop an extra
" Resistance Is Futile." sensory perception that finds
love and those who get the
perspective beauty amid even the
•
relies corn- bleakest landscapes
pletely on your cur- EVERyTHINQ CHANQES. and the dimmest
rent state of mind and All ff eyes, and we often
1 - --%
matter. KESISTANCE IS FUTILE. find ways to give
Opening
• shine because we understand why
1 / 4 ,your mind to the per- chance but remain distrustful of
spectives of others broadens the unfamiliar surroundings. it is missing. .
your vision and knowledge and Strive to be an example; suggest • When .
. you make any
can even help you understand decision that
a good book! But do so knowing
By Alice Potteiger Wilkes for the Capitol Times
your "self" more. they must find their own paths affects someone else, you must
Life is a constant duel or that they may choose to stay be true to your needs, your spir
of dualities. You can where they are. it and your capabilities first.
choose to experience life • when we make a con- This is not selfish; this is
through truth and love or deceit • scious effort to dis- respect for your "self." If you
-ve deceived your
elf, even your best
rtentions will actu
ly lead you away
..om the paths of
love and truth.
and fear. Trutt,
love create bah
while deceit a
fear generate It
and hatred.
strive to
•
under
stand true beauty
Know it and live
as best and
much as possible
L ove a.
•
truth
start with the self.
Value your finer
points and change
the world by tryi
to improve the r(
of yourself. Evi
day, fill in
blank with a pos
tive trait yk
desire and te,
yourself, "I am
works becau
words a►
extremely power+
(journalism al
OPINION
, u haven't made
,e best decisions,
have faith that
everything always
works out as it
should. If its not as
, u planned then
,ere must be a les
son to learn.
Cultivate gratitude
from every situa
tion.
Sometimes the
most dramat
ic life-chang
g events occur
from the minutest
circumstances. I
dn't know it, but I
really needed to sum
up the bits and
pieces of introspec
tion. I've been pigeonholing. If
not for my friend's mild man
nered sarcasm, I'd still be milling
around with no solid evidence of
actually getting someplace with
myself.
New questions and
answers will always develop, and
some will always remain. Like:
who is Cliff? Did he once work
for Reader's Digest Condensed
Books Division? Well, I can tell
you there's no question about one
thing though. We'd all be
deceived if I didn't fearlessly
admit to loving the embodiment
of that three-letter "s" word.
When it
•
seems