Topic awaiting preservation: truth about yourself

What are your dreams......?can you be satisfied,ever?What is happiness?

personality-disorder

It is traditional for you to share a bit first.

Dan @ Code Town

(Edited by WarMage on 04-25-2005 16:52)

What I really ment,was,how many times in your life you are able to make your dreams come true!?
Which means,feel happy.....satisfied.....Unfortunately,we are living in material world,where you need to have a lot of money to make that happen! Is that's the way it should be? And why? Or,you can consider yourself happy,if you are alive and in good health.....?

personality-disorder

There are many ways to be happy, but if you really feel that money is your path to making your dreams come true, you're probably in for some serious disappointment down the road.

For me, life isn't about things, it's about people, experiences, and learning. Yeah, we may live in a material world (who are you, Madonna?), but that doesn't mean you have to buy into the game.

But hey, that's me. We all take a different road to happiness. Some of us get there, some of us don't. Some of us don't even know where we're going.

Still waiting to hear what you think about the issue, though.

___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

I dream of exotic travel all over the world to experience new adventures and I could probably make that happen, WHEN I RETIRE. If I live till then. I don't think I could ever be completely happy, there are always worries.

I think what would make me happy is if I never had to worry about weight. We, women live for the scale. I am not really overweight, but I constantly have to watch my intake. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Food. I wish someone would find a way we could eat anything we wanted without caring about moderation and stay trim. That way I could lie on my beach chair in the Caribbean with my bikini without worrying about a bulge. I am not a big meat (beef) eater. I love sweets. I wish I could live on them. I hope there are sweets, especially chocolate in heaven.

I've lived most of my dreams - I have traveled the world extensively, only Africa and Antartica are missing on my list of continents. I have lived and worked in many countries, and I speak a few languages because of that.

I have been involved in very important government work (and helped change the world), served my country in both times of peace and war, lived both in some of the biggest metropolis' of the world, as well as in the wilderness (and inbetween). I have done different types of work in so many different branches - sometimes I wonder if I really did go through it all.

I have had riches, and I have been so poor, that I was forced to beg on the streets, homeless.

I have lived fat and secure, and I have lived on the cutting edge of danger, adrenaline and destruction a footstep away.

My life has been that what I dreamed about, read about, and saw in movies as I was young. An adventure.

And it still is.

You've fulfilled (the majority of) your dreams, but are you satisfied? That was another component of what he asked. I'm not implying that you aren't, but living a life of "adventure" doesn't necessarily correlate to fulfillment. I believe it was Pascal who noted that every activity is merely a preoccupation from reality - fulfillment, whatever you wish to call it.

I desperately want to (live in, tour) Europe and Asia, and even South America, but I don't believe that would fulfill me - merely satiate me temporarily. I'm not sure what, if anything, would provide that "meaning," that transcendent satisfaction, in me.

--------------------------------------------------------
"Abortion clinics are like expressways to heaven."

Well, Webshaman, it seems you have lead an intereting life up to this point in time.

You must give us details of your exploits that are mentionable. Though I dream of travel, there have been good times and not really all that bad times. Mostly I have been a happy person to date. So I cannot complain. But some of us always yearn for what we have not experienced or had the pleasure of seeing & feeling.

quote:

---

For me, life isn't about things, it's about people, experiences, and learning.

---

That's exactly the way I am.

As a learning buddhist, I try not to obsess over too many material things in this world (which would be why my car is a piece of crap). But simultaneously, I try to keep in mind that I am young and I have room for fun and mistakes. For me, most of my dreams come true when i'm asleep. Seriously. I love to dream, and I live in my own little world of utter bliss when I do. The important thing to try to understand is reality outside of dreams because both must be balanced in order for happiness to be maintained. If you focus all your emphesis on going out and getting fucked up and you have a complete lack of responsibility in the real world, your dreams come to a sudden halt. I've been there and done that. And know people well older than me that are still there and still do that. Living life on the edge is very fun, and very addictive. But if you have no job, no money, and no place to stay, you have no place in the real world to live your dreams. As capitalistic and possibly conglomorate as that may sound, it's the truth. Money isn't everything but it's a minor necessity if you want to live in the real world. Which is why I dream of someday living in tibet, with the real escape artists. Buddhist monks living in monestaries live in a world of no TV, no cell phones, no cars or gas, no paychecks. It's just a community of responsible, intelligent, wise, and happy individuals.

Hippies tried emulate those communities of responsible living in the 60's during America's great Culture Revolution. Sex, drugs, and music is a very attractive life, and some maintained to live like that their entire lives. People like Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin; but the resemblence between them all is they died very young. They were some of the most influential and inspirational people, but they were all irresponsible and caught up between dreams and reality. Where as Tim Leary, the leader of the Culture Revolution, lived a life very similar to WS's, up until his late 80's. He was young and responsible. He earned himself a job as Professor of Psychology at Harvard. He started the acid wave throughout the country and later throughout the world. He was canned, arrested, imprisoned. He escaped, fled to Europe, lived as a bum for 20+ years until he was allowed back into the country where with nothing, he persued a career as a stand up comic in hollywood and continued to carry on his dreams up until his death in 1994. And his ashes were shot into space along with L. Ron Hubbard, and the creator of star trek.

The mark of a fullfilled life in humanity is balance.

(Edited by InSiDeR on 04-26-2005 22:07)

^And getting your ashes shot out into space

"Adventure, heh. Excitement, heh. A Jedi craves not these things..."

Unfortunately, I am no jedi. I would love to go travel. Italy and Greece come to mind when I think about it. A love for them has been placed in me by my Latin teacher.

My dreams come true some times. The ones with me flying around and shooting fireballs out of my hands, or some with little dust bunnies chasing me up a slide (that was strange) don't come true very often. But, the ones that are true to life do come true some times. Those are the scary ones...

Actually, I have pretty much all I want with Jesus. I mean sure, I would love to go and see some things (I am infatuated with history), or do some more mountain climbing, but like cfb noted, it would be just a vacation from true fulfillment.

You are a learning Buddist, Insider? I think most of my knowledge of Buddism is from movies like Mortal Kombat and Ace Ventura. Kinda sad, huh? The main just that I have been able to gleam is that Buddists try to find inner peace (called enlightenment) through meditation and the removal of distractions. Am I correct, or is there more?

"You must unlearn what you have learned."
~Yoda

Yes, spiritual enlightenment is more the ultimate goal in Buddhism, as well lots of other stuff like the four noble truths, the eighfold path, etc.

If I was a codfish... I think I would finally be happy.

If you don't grow up toooo much you'll probably do just fine. Just remember kids, Happy, starts with happy talk....

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/happytalk.htm

Pure silliness and nonsensical talk elevates happiness.
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/bananas.htm

Increasing silliness... more happy happy happy.
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/bibbidy.htm

And as I ride off....
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/happytr.htm


One helluva resource especially if you have kids...or were perhaps thinking about writing a kids' book.

Don't let the smell of old people set in!

Am I satisfied? Happy? Content?

I must admit, earlier in my life, I was not always happy, content, or satisfied.

As I grow older, however, I have such an enormous pool of experience to draw upon, that most things don't catch me off guard anymore. And not having the burning impatience of youth is definitely a plus. It is nice to be able to enjoy a simple moment.

I am satisfied with what I have done so far with my life. To be honest, I never thought I would actually do a small percentage of what I have accomplished so far. I have conquered many demons in my life, and I am a much more peaceful person these days.

I am very, VERY happy with my wife, my marriage, and my daughter. I very much enjoy being married, and being able to finally share life experiences with a great woman at my side.

After I have accomplished my other goals - seeing Africa and Antartica, then finally settling down where my home is, the Redwoods of Northern California, I will be content, I think. The fires and energies of my youth are largely burned out, having served their purpose.

I haven't stopped learning, either. Life still holds lots of mystery, excitement, and things to do that I haven't done yet.

Does adventure alone make one happy? No, I don't think so. But I do think that having some satisfies some deep, demanding part of ourselves. Adventures don't always end happily. And from some, one bears scars for the rest of one's life, both physical and mental. Despite that, I am very grateful that I had and took the chance to have adventures in my life.

I would say, I am right on track, and moving towards a point where I am happy, content, and satisfied.

I believe that this has everything to do with what is inside me, rather then what is outside, out there. I think my journeys and adventures were really just parts of myself struggling to become known to the rest. Often, it was more a journey and adventure into myself, as it was some obscure rock, tree, building, country, etc. I've had to learn things about myself that were not very pleasant, and learn to accept them.

I believe that this journey into onself leads to happiness, contentness and being satisfied, both with Life and with oneself.

Good post WS

dunno. but it helps if you remember more than words.

^ Good point.

"Memories they last for years, but words are just souvenirs"