The New Year 2013 has been around for a week and a half now. I do not have any particular new year´s resolution per se to live up to but I keep on questioning status quo and pondering over life unabated.
I want to believe that Humania is condemned to a lifetime freedom.
What does freedom entail though on an individual level?
*Pursuing your goals and desires without any hindrance,
*Doing whatever you want to do without affecting other people negatively,
*To be your own boss,
*To be where you want to be,
*To have the means to travel as much as you want,
*To feel total happiness and equanimity with the ups and downs in the mundane of life, etc.
The absence of daily routine and social context seems to be taking its toll on me right now. Job opportunities do not exist in abundance here in Eritrea as it is a country still resurrecting from the devastation of war. The current situation with neither war nor peace is not helping either as the country needs to be vigilant towards its enemies in the horn of Africa and beyond.
“Creating your own work” is the melody everywhere right now. I have been thinking about different areas of business but I do not feel that I am the right person to be selling and buying things. It is not in my DNA at all. Trying it may open up my mind, so I prefer not to say never ever in the business world.
I have also to admit the fact that the Lutheran culture of work-holism does not appeal to me and has never appealed before either. I have never thought that working 8 hours a day Monday-Friday is the ultimate meaning of life even if it is something one enjoys doing. Life is too short just to be entirely spent at a working place with colleagues and assignments you most dislike.
A responsible citizen of the world full of bewilderment and wonderings can not stop thinking about the very purpose of life.
I am reading Alain De Botton´s book “The consolations of philosophy” (2000). He refers to the philosophy of Socrates, Epicurus, etc. in ancient Greece and tries to give us some consolations in times of feeling unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, a broken heart and all sorts of difficulties.
The emphasis is on being a critical citizen by asking uncomfortable questions. “Conventional wisdom” exerts a lot of pressure on individuals to follow mainstream opinions that compel them to do things they actually do not enjoy.
One should ask what success and failure mean as everything in between is a journey of wisdom that engenders a lot of lessons. No one is a looser in these endeavours in my view. Everyone is just trying to make sense of their mere presence on this planet which has not welcomed us all with open arms and equal rights and opportunities.
Humility before all challenges in life is a must as we did not after all apply for an entry visa to come to this world. It was our parents who took that crucial decision and thought that we would be having some nice time on earth. We might not be having that fun all the time but it is still okay to be above the ground and experience things that give us new perspectives.
It takes more than a gut to stand for the true virtues and convictions of the life path one has decided to follow and die for it as Socrates did. Facing death with that sort of composure amidst a crowd who behaved like a bunch of wild animals is indeed inspiring even now in 2013, more than 2400 years later.
The philosophy of Epicurus focused on the importance of pleasure. He asserts that:
“Pleasure is the beginning and the goal of a happy life confirming what many had long thought but philosophy had rarely accepted. The philosopher confessed his love of excellent food:
“The beginning and root of every good is the pleasure of the stomach. Even wisdom and culture must be referred to this.”
Philosophy properly performed was to be nothing less than a guide to pleasure:
“The man, who alleges that he is not yet ready for philosophy or that the time for it has passed him by, is like the man who says that he is either too young or too old for happiness.” (Ibid: 50-51).
Freedom, Friendship and thought are the three most important components of happiness for Epicurus.
Freedom requires taking responsibility for the life of yourself and others. To be exempted from doing things that are boring and exhausting does not necessarily mean that one has more freedom than others unless this exemption gives opportunity to other individuals to realize their full potentials.
Human beings are social animals and their need for confirmation is more omnipresent than other creatures. Friendship is the ultimate resort where your weakness and strength become the focal point of attention. True friends care and raise critical issues that develop you as a human being.
Descartes theory of “Cogito, ergo sum” comes to my mind when I think of “thought”. I think therefore I exist. Thinking makes us question, doubt, feel anxiety and uncertainty for the rest of our lives as long as we claim to be homosapiens.
Life would probably be much more boring if we had all the answers for all our questions. Philosophy might not give us “happiness” as such but provides us with the tools to pursue the very purpose of us being wherever we are at this moment. A healthy and prosperous living means philosophising full time until the last breathes of our lives.
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