Eudaimonia

Well, Joey has offered his final thoughts in our conversation, at least for now. I for one feel some sense of relief, because the thing had started to sprawl across several blogs as well as subjects, and it was getting too large for me to keep track of it all! A few pointers to some of the participants (links are to their latest contributions to the discussion, as of this writing): FSK’s Guide to Reality; David Gross at The Picket Line; and Kent McManigal. While I have much to say on each of the topics we’ve tossed around, I have neither the time nor the inclination to try to do them all justice in this sitting. Instead, I will mention that a primary raison d’être for my part of this blog is to explore these issues; and I encourage any interested invididuals to explore the archives here and elsewhere for previous ramblings on the subjects. All I’ll offer today are some general observations in response to what I perceive to be Joey’s central themes.

I have long been squirming in my seat, waiting for this day ... and in fact, I thought I’d be on the other side of this post, so to speak—in the reading audience instead of writing it. But this is good news I’ve already been waiting too long to share; and now that I’ve obtained permission to share it, I shall delightedly do so.

Yes, I continue to dwell on the “Is all fun profitable?” idea. It occurs to me that part of the reason I have difficulty with responses like Brad Spangler’s is that it’s based on something that may be ineffable for as long as humans exist: a way to objectively define, quantify, and calculate relationships among concepts including “profit”, “fun”, “cost”, “risk”, and “happiness”. I could go off on many tangents from that observation—and I may still, in future ramblings—but for today, I will simply say that I am unconvinced that an economics-based analysis is always the best course.

I recently had something said to me that I have not been able to get out of my mind. Thus, I turn to you twelve for your thoughts on the matter.

I know you’re a decent, industrious, cooperative animal, comparable to a bee or an ant. All I’ve done is to lay bare the little man in you, who has been wrecking your life for thousands of years. You are great, little man, when you’re not mean and small. Your greatness, little man, is the only hope we have left. You’re great when you attend lovingly to your trade, when you take pleasure in carving and building and painting, in sowing and reaping, in the blue sky and the deer and the morning dew, in music and dancing, in your growing children, and in the beautiful body of your wife or husband; when you go to the planetarium to study the stars, to the library to read what other men and women have thought about life. You’re great when your grandchild sits on your lap and you tell him of times long past and look into the uncertain future with his sweet, childlike curiosity. You’re great, mother, when you lull your baby to sleep; when with tears in your eyes you pray fervently for his future happiness; and when hour after hour, year after year, you build this happiness in your child.

You’re great, little man, when you sing the good, warmhearted folk songs, or when you dance the old dances to the tune of an accordion, because folk songs are good for the soul, and they’re the same the world over. And you’re great when you say to your friend:
“I thank my fate that I’ve been able to live my life free from filth and greed, to see my children grow and to look on as they first began to babble, to take hold of things, to walk, to play, to ask questions, to laugh and to love; that I’ve been able to preserve, in all its freedom and purity, my feeling for the springtime and its gentle breezes, for the gurgling of the brook that flows past my house and the singing of the birds in the woods; that I’ve taken no part in the gossip of malicious neighbors; that I’ve been happy in the embrace of my wife or husband and have felt the stream of life in my body; that I haven’t lost my bearings in troubled times, and that my life has had meaning and continuity. For I have always hearkened to the gentle voice within me that said, ‘Only one thing matters: live a good, happy life. Do your heart’s bidding, even when it leads you on paths that timid souls would avoid. Even when life is a torment, don’t let it harden you.’”

Jomama highlighted a different section of what appears to be an astonishing book. Race you for a copy!

I am soooo tired of reading pro-freedom commentary that begins, “After the revolution, I’ll [insert idea/plan here]”. Seems to me that kind of attitude is a perfect recipe for a lot of talking, and little, if any, actual doing.

Many individuals have asked me to share more about my walkabout—a two-week sabbatical from the world over the 2003 holiday season. As I’ve already written about some of the results of the trip, I suspect what they’re wanting is a different perspective, or perhaps some more personal insights. As that experience was a very personal, powerful one, I do not care to reveal more details to the world at large. However, upon gaining some perspective post-walkabout, I find that I would like to share a bit more about an unexpected but highly valuable insight from it.

I had wanted the walkabout for two reasons: as a vacation from my work and family responsibilities, which although enjoyable had begun to weigh heavily upon me; and to have sufficient time and peace for some long-overdue introspection. It wasn’t until I returned home that I realized I had given myself another, possibly even more-needed break.

That break was from the incessant cultural chatter that is virtually impossible to escape. I don’t watch television (except for rare times when I join my children while they're watching something) and don’t listen to radio. However, I do a huge amount of web browsing, and much of that requires trolling the mainstream news sources for material for Freedom News Daily. I hadn’t realized, until I returned to it, how corrosive a thing that is to me.

I began to notice more cultural corrosives after that discovery. Even a relatively benign thing like shopping exposes one to many social or cultural stereotypes and expectations, many of which are misguided or downright unhealthy. If one is at all observant of one’s fellow humans in one’s midst, that too can set off any of a number of negative responses.

So much of the world is inimical to individual liberty. So many of us who have devoted our lives to expanding freedom are little understood, and often valued even less. Sometimes that’s true even among those who would be our allies but for hubris, dogmatism, or any other self-defeating silliness. Add to that the unceasing stream of bad news from the world at large—goodbye privacy; more war, more bloodshed, and less human decency on almost every continent; more coin flushed down the bureaucrat and regulatory commodes—and it’s amazing we who cherish freedom aren’t burning out faster than we are.

But we are burning out. I’ve teetered on the precipice again, just a few short months after my soul-cleansing walkabout. I’ve seen many others making comments that suggest they, too, are walking the razor’s edge. What can be done?

Drop out.

I don’t mean drop out in the Thoreau-esque style of living a hermit’s life—at least, not at the beginning. What I mean is to drop out and take a break from life’s pressures and challenges, in order to refocus on yourself. Many freedom activists get so caught up in the perpetual cause that they seem unable to disengage until they do flame out. That’s sad. It’s also unnecessary.

While the effort to advance liberty is a noble and highly worthy cause, it is also a never-ending effort. Too many of us seem to forget or ignore that hard reality, often at our own peril. How free are we if we enslave ourselves to the ideals of liberty? If we take on too much and therefore render ourselves less effective, we end up working against ourselves and our allies, no matter what our good intentions might be. As long as one is committed to working for that cause, one must keep in mind the necessary balance between the cause and one’s own personal liberty—and one’s well-being.

Drop out of the culture and drop out of civilization as much as possible. Drop out of activism too. Then, tune in to your own rhythms, your own needs and desires, hopes and fears. Chances are you’ll discover, much as I did, that the path you’ve been treading is not a healthy one for you—not one you intended when you set out. Only after you recognize that will it be possible for you to set it right, and re-plot your course. That will in turn help you regain your sense of purpose, and very likely your ability to enjoy your own freedom.

We all need balance and focus in our lives. Sometimes those things seem to come only after a hard lesson, such as a burnout. But there’s a difference between the burnout that incinerates the soul and the cleansing fire that instructs, “Hey, wake up! What you’re doing isn’t healthy for your head!”

For me, I can only take so much fire, whether good or bad; I found that I needed to escape, in order to see a way clear of the smoke billowing in my mind. An escape may work similar wonders for you. You may require months of solitude to regain the precious insight to your soul—or it may take you just an afternoon in a hammock. Whatever works for you—as long as it does work—is what’s important. You may discover that you want to rearrange your life and priorities; you may discover that you’ve been on the right course all along, but moving at a pace that doesn’t suit you. You’ll almost certainly discover that you have more choices than you think you do—and you’ll likely find that by consciously thinking about those choices, then making informed decisions, your enjoyment of life will return.

I don’t claim any great insights into the meaning of life, but I do think that a fundamental element driving human action is the desire to be effective. To be an effective individual, one must first know oneself. Only then can an individual choose a path that will allow him to be genuine. And only when a person is able to be so honest with himself will he be able to create authentic, fulfilling consensual relationships with others.

The world is amazingly interconnected via the internet, and becoming more so each day. The possibilities for happiness—as well as for misery and pain—are legion. As tempting as it may be to get, and remain, plugged in to all that connectivity, it is vitally important to first connect with yourself.

So, do it.

Drop out.

Then tune in to the best friend you can ever have—yourself.

A while back, Pint of Stout invited individuals to consider a question, and to share an answer to it. As his question was a neat bull’s-eye for me—something I have thought long and hard, and variously about for decades—I hereby accept his invitation and offer my ramblings to accompany his.

I’ve been thinking a fair bit about Pint of Stout’s upcoming thought–party, An Inquiry into the Soul. Although I’m not sure how to accomplish it just yet, I hope to contribute. Then, The Shadow’s Thoughts on Ataraxia veered my rambling ideas into a related (but only tangentially) direction: what is a successful life?

The Epicurean concept of ataraxia means freedom from mental disturbances. Epicurus taught that such freedom is a necessary component in the lifetime pursuit of rational pleasure which leads ultimately to eudaimonia (the flourishing of one's life).

Epicurus is truly the philosopher of freedom--of the sort that most of us modern lovers of liberty seek--and the fact that he accurately laid out all of the essentials millennia ago is truly remarkable. And what are these essentials?

It’s certainly a major victory to be back online after nearly two days! Short story: our satlink company had a regional problem, and when it was “fixed”, that created another problem for a subset of affected customers. Yes, we were among those beset with that second problem. But, after many hours with tech support, our connection was finally restored late yesterday evening ... too late for me to have enough energy to offer my contributions to the party I’d scheduled. But now that I’ve had some time to get things properly set up, I hope it carries on from what was begun on 1/16 ...

Or maybe more than one victory: that’s up to you esteemed readers.

You could die today, you know. So could I. For some of us, such thoughts regularly niggle at our minds, irrespective of whether there’s a good reason for them to tug at our attention. I’ve tried to turn that almost ever-present sense of mortality into a source of motivation—a way to help me live the life I dream, rather than sleepwalking through most of it. So I guess it won’t come as any surprise to you seven that when I read this over at B.W.’s place, I had quite an intense reaction.

And the reason why I haven’t commented sooner in this space is because I didn’t want my response to be too personal—I don’t know B.W.’s commenter, “CK”, and I didn’t want to give the impression of attacking him or her. But last night, as I lay and waited for sleep to embrace my mind, I realized that a large part of my reaction to CK’s comment arose from the attack s/he mounted on my friend—one I am all too familiar with. And thus I cannot let it pass unchallenged.

Whew! What a couple of days it’s been ... first I was cooking like crazy, and today came the payoff, so to speak.

This almost certainly won’t come as a surprise, given my garden chatter recently: I’ve been fending off stress spikes as my to-do list seems to continue growing, despite my best efforts to get things done. A steady infusion of warm squeezes from MAL has been a big help, but some reflecting and reframing over the weekend of the things going on in my life has led to an almost complete disappearance of spike formation.