“Smaller†- The Examined Life [Hidden Dragon BizBlog 1.2]
This is the second in a series of post discussing The Examined Life, based on the book “Living With Less” by Mark Tabb. In the first section of this book, “Smaller”, Tabb addresses the issue of “living large”, its impact on our present condition and our future legacy.
“The only way to make my life matter is to choose less. And the first thing I need is less of me. Once that issue is settled, I am in a position to live a life that lasts longer than I do.”
“Less of me? ” you may ask yourself, “Where do I even start with that?”, or perhaps simply, “Why would I?” Good questions. For those of us who live in this 21st century world and are exposed to the media, the commercials, the social engineering and planned communities - aren’t the choices being made for us better for us? Shouldn’t we just accept the various contexts that our lives get slotted into? Or should we analyze our situation with an eye to tomorrow and the day after?
It’s time for a little experiment: Raise your hand if you need food and water to survive. Good. Now put your hands down. Next, raise your hand if you need your old cabinet-style stereo speakers that you had in college but are now in the corner of the garage, under the Betamax video player and three years worth of back issues of Sports Illustrated. (I trust that no one has their hand up now…)
Illuminating, isn’t it? Tabb suggests that if we want more out of life than to merely be the caretakers of our personal “U-stor-it” sheds that perhaps we examine our lives a bit. We should ask ourselves, “What do I want out of life?” Is it your goal to have an obituary that reads: “John’s collection of Sports Illustrated magazines is unsurpassed in Podunk County. They will be recycled tomorrow.” Or would you rather that your loved ones see something like this when you are gone: “John’s contributions to the Podunk Community have influenced a generation of young people and his leadership has made Podunk a better place to live.”
Think about that.
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Original post here: Stephen
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