Asking — and answering — life's interesting questions
We all do things that we know are bad for us, for our individual selves or for our society or for our environment. And yet for one reason or another, for pleasure or convenience, for personal ease or peer pressure, we do them anyway.
What do you do that you know you shouldn’t?
Related questions: How much of our thoughts are our own? What are our responsibilities to others? How do you define success? When is it useful to fail?
From reader Karen:
Even the most well-adjusted person can feel exhausted at times. Our world can be overwhelming, both spiritually and emotionally as well as physically.
When the pressures and stresses of everyday life get to be too much for you, where do you go — literally or figuratively — for respite? Do you have a haven or a sanctuary that is a welcoming place, where you can escape and recharge your emotional batteries?
What is your retreat from the world, and how does it help you?
Related questions: Why do we put up with unhappiness? What is emotional well-being? How can we maintain wonder?
There’s a monotonous nature to most of our lives: We get up; we go to work (which often requires a set of reoccurring procedures); we return home to carry out a patterned set of tasks and pastimes; we go to sleep; repeat. Ask someone, “What have you been up to?” and the answer given back is often something along the lines of “Same old, same old.”
Are the regular, patterned parts of our life where our essence is? Or are unique moments what give life meaning?
Dear reader: How important is the repetition in our lives?
Related Questions: What makes you you? What is important? How can we turn ideas into actions?
When I meet someone new, I like to ask, “Who are you?”
Most people provide their occupation as an answer, which is perfectly alright. Others share different aspects of their life that are important to their identity (e.g. if they are parents, their hobbies, something they are proud of). I especially enjoy those replies.
Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘What makes you you?’ We also discuss another question as well, ‘What gives a person value?’
However, a small number look at me in a weird, somewhat offended way, as if I have asked a deeply personal question on our first encounter.
I’ll phrase this week’s question somewhat differently. Either abstractly or in a real practical sense what makes you you?
Related questions: How important is the repetition in our lives? How much of our thoughts are our own? What are our responsibilities to others?
Life is complicated, with lots of moving parts. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming, so much is happening. But if you simplify things, strip away all the minutia of everyday living, some events or actions or people mean more than everything else.
In other words: What is important?
Related questions: Why do we spend time on things that are not important? How do you define success? How do we choose our priorities? How important is the repetition in our lives?