“Be as you wish to seem” ~ Socrates
“Eh Eh, Oh Yeah, All I can say is eh” ~ Lady Gaga
Philosophy is an interesting word …
Even more interesting is thinking of some of the greatest philosophers who have ever lived …
Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Rumi, Lao-Tzu …
A philosopher is a lover of knowledge, they love to study, learn, and grow.
Their goal: become an expert in a branch of science, in knowledge, or a particular way of thinking.
A philosopher holds a particular system of beliefs, a “philosophy” if you will, and they live their lives accordingly. They never stop growing and they seek to know more.
Philosophers are seen as teachers and their students are eager to follow their way.
So let’s jump ahead about 2500 years to today. Let’s look at some of the modern day philosophers whose followers wait with anticipation of seeing or hearing what they have to say …
We have … Lady Gaga, Snookie, the Amazing Kardashian’s, Angelina Jolie, Jon Stewart, Charlie Sheen, Conan O’Brian, and Howard Stern, just to name a few.
Hard to believe that millions of people spend hours sitting in front of “the tube” filling their brains with the philosophies of these great minds.
Yes, you can laugh it off and say … it’s just entertainment, it’s not hurting anybody.
The truth is that by watching and listening to these modern day philosophers you are buying into their philosophy.
For some people being obsessed with THEIR philosopher’s way of life has become a big part of THEIR WAY OF LIFE.
So that got me thinking …
What philosophy do I hold about how I live my life? What is it that I value? Who do I follow? How do I spend my precious time?
It prompted me to sit down and write 3 short statements of how I choose to live my life … a life philosophy of sorts. It is not complete and I’m sure it will change as I continue to learn and grow and yet here is what I wrote…
- To live my life to its fullest.
- To not waste my time, energy, or resources on things, people, or activities, that hold me back from becoming the greatest man that I am capable of being.
- To leave this place … empty and in some small way … better than the way it was before I got here.
So what about you … if I asked you to write out the philosophy(s) that guide your life … what would you write?
And remember … Eh Eh … Oh Yeah … Eh … now that’s deep!
