Questioning Life, Success, and Goodness

 

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

-- Leo Tolstoy

 

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Note to my readers:  I couldn't believe that so many people had similar questions for me concerning life, this morning.  Even more to the point, my answer was the same for each of them.  I have grouped the questions together at the beginning of this post, so you can see what I mean.

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What is the greatest choice in life?

To live. Everything else is because of this.  The second greatest choice is to be happy always.

How can one relate keeping a secret to a fulfilled and successful life?

First, you need to understand a truly fulfilled and successful life. Then you need to ask, why anyone would not equate the secret to being happy always? If you think your life is fulfilled and successful, but you lack true happiness, doesn’t this say something about your supposed success and fulfillment? When you really consider it, the secret is happiness. Without happiness life simply sucks. And, since happiness is just a choice, we should be making better choices.

How can someone ascertain he/she is living a fulfilled life?

Are they exceedingly happy, all the time?

How can someone know he is going to be successful?

When he understands what true success is. We all have the ability to have success once we understand what it is. Are you truly happy in your life, regardless of your circumstances? Success! Everything else is just frosting on the cake. Strive to be happy always!

If you do everything right, will life turn out the way you want it to?

If what you want never changes, maybe. But, the change is the only true constant in the universe, so beware what you think you want, as it may not be when you get it. Better to strive for happiness at all times. When everything is said and done, what we really want is to be happy always. To choose to feel anything else is counterproductive to us reaching self-actualization. Make good choices, do everything right, and start with choosing to be happy always. The alternative simply sucks.

What is driving employee satisfaction?

Happiness. If they aren’t happy with what they’re doing, how can they be truly satisfied with their job or their life? This may not be the employer’s problem. Everyone needs to understand that happiness is the cornerstone of life. If they don’t have job satisfaction, if they are not truly happy with their choice of job, perhaps they should choose another job? We should all be striving to be happy at all times.

How do I pick a specific spiritual path to reach goals in life?

I put Catholicism on the back burner, early in life. I began studying other religions and philosophies. For me, it was a mix of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, and my own spiritual faith in a “higher power” that eventually propelled me through life. You don’t need a spiritual path to reach your goals, though. The “spiritual path” will keep you humble and happy while you strive to find the motivation to reach the goals you’ve set. Be happy always and you are successful, otherwise, “success” is just another word.

Very sincere question. What is really the point in living when you know you have nothing, never will have anything and people are waiting and watching you till you fail and fall flat on your face?

The point of living is life itself, and learning to be happy always despite your circumstances.

Having said this, considering the scenario you put forth, the point of living would be to keep getting up when you fail, learn from what you did wrong, and keep on trying until you succeed. When you finally succeed, you won’t have to say anything or rub their faces in your success. They will know, and, more importantly, they will know you know they know, and that, alone, is worth all the effort it will take to succeed.

Along with being happy always, strive to be humble in all things.

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”

-- Robert Frost

Perfection is often, at times, an enemy to greatness. True or false?

If you strive for perfection you will never attain it, as perfection does not exist. However, if you strive for greatness, this is something you can achieve through hard work and knowledge.

What life experiences have you had that have led you to feel so passionately about this issue?

Uh… what issue?

How can you benefit from the past?

Knowledge of what doesn’t work, so we don’t repeat mistakes in the present or the future. History is a terrible thing not to teach our young. It is even worse when adults dare to deny it.

“If you want to fly on the sky, you need to leave the earth. If you want to move forward, you need to let go the past that drags you down.”

-- Amit Ray

Can people ever truly be satisfied with what others teach them in a world where one can design their own course of study?

I can see where an idiot might be more satisfied with their own course of study on the benefits of idiocy than, let’s say, a college-level psychology course that might consider the larger picture.

We can teach ourselves many things, but it is very beneficial to have what we learn validated as correct by “others” knowledgeable on the subjects.

Is human morality instinctive or learned?

It could be both. If we believe babies are born without sin, then sin, immorality, must be a learned behavior. If this is true, then babies have to learn to be immoral. If they learn this, it stands to reason they must, then, have to unlearn it, or learn how to be moral, again. 

Which of these is more important to a person, money or power?

I think this depends on the individual and what they want in life. If I had the power to create world peace, would I choose to be rich? Being a humble person, my selfless choice would be to create world peace. I truly think this plays to a person’s personal choice to be selfless or selfish in their choices and decisions.

“Money equals power; power makes the law, and law makes government.”

-- Kim Stanley Robinson

According to your experiences in life, how true is this statement "People linked by destiny, always find each other"?

For me, I can say I feel it is true. I have had people thrust upon me who, without my help would have taken a different path. I have had people thank me for mentoring them through issues so they could succeed, and find happiness.

I feel I’ve met people I have known before, and vice versa, in past lives, perhaps. I have met a beautiful young lady, half my age, who I know for a fact I have known in another life and been in love with, but the love was different then, in the fact that I have little desire to make love to her. Age difference notwithstanding, something about our history, our past life, forbids it and, yes, it confuses the heck out of me. She could be my sister, a daughter, my responsibility, or such.

Author's comment:  I also met a man this year, older than me too, I dreamt of him the first time 15 years ago I was still a student, then again twice (once some months before meeting him, and once some days before meeting him) When we saw each other in real, in a hotel, we greeted each other and we were happy, like if we really knew each other before and met after long separation. That was quite scary to see my dreams coming true, with all the details (the music at the restaurant, the clients there, a couple who were fighting and how they looked, so much details I saw before in my dreams about him) and then I didn’t know what to do. After that we looked for each other, we were happy to be around each other, at the same time we avoided each other, it was very weird! I was so scared that I left the hotel without telling him anything. But those days I spent there were like a dream! And even the reason why I went there, were not ordinary, I was “obliged” to take a trip to another city, there are circumstances that pushed me to go there, to that hotel, and to stay there. Sice then, I started believing in destiny. Why have we met? I don’t know!

My reply:  Beautiful story. Thank you, for sharing! 

How can you tell if you have foundation problems?

Walls are out of square and floors are no longer level, as they are constructed to be. A walk around the foundation might turn up a crack which would evidence possible settling. Inside and outside walls can also show stress from this settling of the foundation. There are people who specialize in determining foundation issues and mitigating further damage. 

Why are some goods not good enough?

The item we want is unavailable or the quality we obtained was not as expected. The taste, the construction, the material, and such, all have a bearing on whether the item is “good enough” for why we obtained it.

Back in the day, this was less of a problem since we could touch, taste, feel, and have first-hand knowledge of the time before we obtained it. Mailorder took this away from us. Now we purchase most things untouched, sight unseen, or without tasting. We purchase and then we hope it meets our needs.

“Another reason why simple is good, is because it forces you to do one thing extremely well.”

-- Sam Altman

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com