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Caring_Cactus t1_jdsffri wrote

Seems like they weren't inherently focused on life's functionality, as the author said they were moderates. What they were trying to convey sounds like they despised complacency, as all it does it post pone the inevitable, so one ought to accept the moment, either embrace it as a challenge or succumb to helplessness. There's no right/wrong path as long as one is active in the process of creating their belief, meaning with purpose.

It's not so much how long one lives, but how one uses their life to the fullest.

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surfmoss t1_jdtn4su wrote

Some people still live like this and it is infectious. I served on an elite army unit and also worked around many folks with PhD's. These groups of people despise complacency. I liked being around that, it kept me sharp. I still try to live like that.

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Caring_Cactus t1_jdtotzf wrote

Agree, because how many tomorrows are we going to keep telling ourselves when we only live within each passing present moment, the future is now, and has always been right here with us.

Whether we express pain and suffering or joy and pleasure, that means we embrace the moment! Whether or not one is doing it intuitively or intentionally does not matter, they are active in this process. When we embrace the moment as a challenge we will always derive something good from the experience -- that deeper connection/feeling of wholeness; reinforce the self instead of losing the self.

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MrCW64 t1_jdusncy wrote

The inevitable?

You're going to die, everything you possess will be lost, you're going to be forgotten in the world and will leave no lasting legacy.

So suicide? Cut out the middle man?

Accepting the moment is fine, but what's it for? The often ignored yet inevitable loss of it all would suggest that there is something more to be discovered in the time allotted than the mere temporary contents of it.

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Caring_Cactus t1_jdvn5je wrote

One must accept these limitations in human power in order for one to enjoy (derive meaning, a consistent wholeness in self) in this passing of life, and frankly this is something we are already doing, but many feel controlled by the conscription of others' meaning instead of their own they create through this passage.

Edit: Here's a great quote that unrelatedly talks about this:

>"The problem arises when people are so fixated on what they want to achieve that they cease to derive pleasure from the present. When that happens, they forfeit their chance of contentment." - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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