Eudaimonia Journal

I have always believed in simple living and high thinking. Lately, I have been looking back and reflecting in which ways life has blessed me. For the past four and half decades I have undertaken the study of both Eastern and Western philosophies and have had the opportunity to practice in several Eastern mystical traditions. Some of which have benefited me in deeply pragmatic ways and some of which have helped me to realize in which directions that I do not aspire my life to take.

I am by no means an ascetic. But, I believe in a healthy balance to life. Though, I do not deride those who have chosen an ascetic way of life. I have met many awesome people on my personal journey who are good and honorable people. I have also met many people who live their virtues deeply with conviction and dignity. But living other people’s ideas and other people’s dogmas does not work for me personally. I cannot simply accept that my questions can be answered with ancient texts, scriptures, and subjective philosophies. For thousands of years people have asked the same questions but answers can be right or wrong. Answers can be truthful, outright lies, or fabrications of mystical and imaginary wishful thinking.

I prefer to live in the real world seeking practical solutions to everyday problems and living my life for better or worse without the need for phantasmagoria and mystical thinking.

This world and the universe we live in is amazing. Reality alone is unfathomable, so why should I waste my time clinging to mythology and mystical reasoning?

I do not seek religious or mystical answers in regards to an afterlife or another state of being. Because I am in this world, with real challenges and in the need for practical solutions to everyday problems. So what can be done to relieve the sting of mortal existence? Let us be realistic, no one can live a problem free life. People spend their lives trying to achieve nirvana or heaven or oneness with the universe but on the 1st of the month they still have to pay their rent, their mortgage, their electric bill, and all the necessities of modern life. The philosopher Bertrand Russell called this “philosophy that bakes no bread.”

I have aspired to live my life in a virtuous and pragmatic way without feeling the need to encourage others to follow my personal journey nor do I desire to live in cultish environments or within dogmatic mindsets.

My personal path is simple and straightforward. I do not pretend to know all the answers to all the questions that have plagued humanity since our species has stepped out of the cave and learned to make fire nor do I feel the need to pursue such existential questions. I simply wish a simple life dedicated to the pursuit of self wisdom and the betterment of myself and my fellow human beings.

I try to find joy in ordinary acts of being alive. I endeavor to live my life in a natural way and in accordance with simplicity, virtue, and wisdom. The ancient Greek philosophers called this ideal eudaimonia, which in simple terms simply means well-being or flourishing.

Both Greek and Roman philosophers have defined this ideal in slightly different terms. But what they all agree on is that one should live simply and virtuously in accordance with the natural laws and to also to eschew the urges of power, praise, and profit.

We should endeavor to understand that we are a part of this natural world and that the natural laws are inseparable from the laws of life. These natural laws dictate the course of everyone’s life. No one can cheat death or disease. No one is free from suffering because this is the inescapable position of all living entities great and small. The greatest of philosophers and religious leaders are not exempt from either mortality or suffering any more than anyone else.

In the course of one’s ordinary life we should endeavor to be an asset to our fellow human beings, to society, and ourselves. Nature is absolutely indifferent to our personal desires and idealized notions but we may still endeavor to pierce the proverbial veil of suffering with the torch light of introspection and self reflection .

We can live and share in the world’s natural splendor as well as recognize its more unpleasant aspects through the written word, poetry, music, and artistic expression. We can do this because we possess the human faculty of knowledge and we are uniquely positioned as human beings to experience phenomena and our place within this universe while also being phenomena ourselves. We are both inconceivably the observers and the observed simultaneously. This undeniable miracle of human existence is that we are minute sparks of splendor in a vast cosmic drama which very few people are privy to understand and still our knowledge of the universe is incredibly minute compared to its vast and unfathomable complexities.

I feel deeply fortunate that I am able to question my place in this vast and complicated cosmos. I cannot pretend to understand the complete nature and design of this universe or even if there is any purpose to the universe aside from it simply existing.  philosophers have questioned why does anything exist at all? Why and how am I able to perceive the universe outside of myself? Does my life have any significance or is our sense of purpose simply an illusion for self-comfort? What I do know is that simple things like bird songs, the rhythm of the rain on the roof, or simple walk in the woods and mountains bring joy and solace to our human hearts? Simplicity seems to heal the wounds of our modern lives despite our encroaching march towards mortality and dissolution.

Again, I do not think that I have any answers to life’s major dilemmas. I simply seek to live my life in such a way as to not mire myself in a quagmire of poor choices and avoidable regrets.

My simple five point strategy is to: live virtuously, to live simply, to engage with moderation in all things, to live realistically in the natural world, and to live in a harmonious union with my fellow human beings and with nature.

I have spent the majority of my life giving more than I have taken and I have never asked for anything in return. When relationships have ended I have left with honor and dignity for both myself and others. I have never tried to harm others out of lust, anger, or greed and for this I am very grateful. I have lived my life in such a way that I have no personal enemies, I tried to show equanimity to everyone. I try to understand that I do not know the full story in everyone’s life nor do I know their trials and tribulations. When confronted with meanness I choose to act with kindness and empathy.

In retrospect, I endeavor to learn from my past, not make the same mistakes that I have made, and to act prudently and cautiously in the face of uncertainties. I simply seek a joyful and ordinary sense of being.