Essential Questions:
1) What is the purpose of your existence?
2) What is happiness and what makes you happy?
3) What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
4) To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
2) What is happiness and what makes you happy?
3) What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
4) To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
Personal Reflection
Part 1: New Insights
Through this project, I have realized how beautifully the meaning of life can be illustrated. I understand that, in order to find meaning in my own life, I must realize that I'm going to die, and that life is meaningless until I can understand myself. Through my own emotions, I am able to define what makes me happy, or feel excited. I can create meaning in my life based on these definitions, and I will hopefully create my legacy our of them. In The Lesson of the Moth, the moth states,
"it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty"
This really stuck with me, and I now realize that life may not be as meaningless as we think. It's all based on how I am able to find beauty and happiness in my life; something I now strive toward, and search for, every day.
Part 2: Further Questions
Questions I've sparked about myself:
1) How significant are materials in my life, and how important will they be to me in the future?
2) Will my strive to make money build me, or deteriorate me?
3) If it comes down to it, and I know I'm at the time of my death, what will I think about? Will I be able to let everything go?
4) How will I translate my hobbies and activities to meaning later in life, and how will I make time for these things?
5) How do I retain a passion for these hobbies?
Through this project, I have realized how beautifully the meaning of life can be illustrated. I understand that, in order to find meaning in my own life, I must realize that I'm going to die, and that life is meaningless until I can understand myself. Through my own emotions, I am able to define what makes me happy, or feel excited. I can create meaning in my life based on these definitions, and I will hopefully create my legacy our of them. In The Lesson of the Moth, the moth states,
"it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty"
This really stuck with me, and I now realize that life may not be as meaningless as we think. It's all based on how I am able to find beauty and happiness in my life; something I now strive toward, and search for, every day.
Part 2: Further Questions
Questions I've sparked about myself:
1) How significant are materials in my life, and how important will they be to me in the future?
2) Will my strive to make money build me, or deteriorate me?
3) If it comes down to it, and I know I'm at the time of my death, what will I think about? Will I be able to let everything go?
4) How will I translate my hobbies and activities to meaning later in life, and how will I make time for these things?
5) How do I retain a passion for these hobbies?
The Stranger Seminar Prep
We can take a lot away from Meursault’s character in The Stranger. From the first sentence in the novel, Meursault had shown an obvious lack in care for much of anything. He didn’t care that his mom had died, and didn’t really lose much sleep over the fact that he had killed the Arab. It’s almost as if he’s a lucky man to have a woman like Marie in his life, although he shows no emotion for her. She had confessed her love to him, and even asked him to marry her. When she asked him if he loved her, he simply said that he didn’t, and he didn’t care whether or not they got married. All in all, Meursault didn’t have emotional attachment to most of the things in his life even he believed he should have an emotional attachment to.
Meursault was kind of exempt from society when it became obvious to others that he didn’t grieve over his mother’s death, or even make an attempt to grieve or take responsibility for killing the Arab. Meursault is defined by his indifference to everything, and I think that we can take a lot out of this. He had no true sense of identity until he was prepared for execution, with everyone around him shouting words of hate. And yet, that was his satisfaction, because it helped him understand whom he truly was. So, if we work toward defining ourselves, and making meaning out of our lives, in order to experience emotion, we may achieve lives worth living.
Existentialism Key Term
Page # and excerpt of the quote
Brief description of how this passage represents the key term
The Absurd
“I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” – pg. 35
This is an example of Meursault’s indifference to everything, and his idea that it didn’t matter whether or not he felt anything for Marie.
Existence precedes essence
“Besides, you always feel a little guilty” – pg. 20
In this part, Meursault lets this sentence flow without much recognition of the fact that the sentence is enriched with societal expectations; according to him, everyone always feels a little guilty.
Alienation
“I hadn’t realized that people thought badly of me for doing it, but that the home had seemed like the natural thing since I don’t have enough money to have Maman cared for”
– pg. 45
This is an example of how Meursault hadn’t realized society’s viewpoint on him, given that he was alienated from what seemed wrong or right.
Angst/Individual Freedom and Responsibility of choice
(Either of him avoiding responsibility or accepting free will or experiencing that angst in recognizing his free will.)
“It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it” – pg. 58
In this moment, Meursault realizes he can make a choice that can affect whether or not he causes conflict with the Arab, but there was also the choice to cause conflict with the Arab, and even shoot him.
Question 5 answer:
The story of the Czech is a direct relation to the absurd. The absurd is that life is meaningless, and no matter how well you live it, you are going to die, and that will be the end of you. In the story, the Czech ends up being killed by his family, unknowingly, and the family then brings themselves to their own endings, feeling they deserved nothing more after having made their husband/brother experience death. Despite everything he had accomplished in his life, the Czech still died as a result of his actions, and had no control over his death.
Meursault was kind of exempt from society when it became obvious to others that he didn’t grieve over his mother’s death, or even make an attempt to grieve or take responsibility for killing the Arab. Meursault is defined by his indifference to everything, and I think that we can take a lot out of this. He had no true sense of identity until he was prepared for execution, with everyone around him shouting words of hate. And yet, that was his satisfaction, because it helped him understand whom he truly was. So, if we work toward defining ourselves, and making meaning out of our lives, in order to experience emotion, we may achieve lives worth living.
Existentialism Key Term
Page # and excerpt of the quote
Brief description of how this passage represents the key term
The Absurd
“I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” – pg. 35
This is an example of Meursault’s indifference to everything, and his idea that it didn’t matter whether or not he felt anything for Marie.
Existence precedes essence
“Besides, you always feel a little guilty” – pg. 20
In this part, Meursault lets this sentence flow without much recognition of the fact that the sentence is enriched with societal expectations; according to him, everyone always feels a little guilty.
Alienation
“I hadn’t realized that people thought badly of me for doing it, but that the home had seemed like the natural thing since I don’t have enough money to have Maman cared for”
– pg. 45
This is an example of how Meursault hadn’t realized society’s viewpoint on him, given that he was alienated from what seemed wrong or right.
Angst/Individual Freedom and Responsibility of choice
(Either of him avoiding responsibility or accepting free will or experiencing that angst in recognizing his free will.)
“It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it” – pg. 58
In this moment, Meursault realizes he can make a choice that can affect whether or not he causes conflict with the Arab, but there was also the choice to cause conflict with the Arab, and even shoot him.
Question 5 answer:
The story of the Czech is a direct relation to the absurd. The absurd is that life is meaningless, and no matter how well you live it, you are going to die, and that will be the end of you. In the story, the Czech ends up being killed by his family, unknowingly, and the family then brings themselves to their own endings, feeling they deserved nothing more after having made their husband/brother experience death. Despite everything he had accomplished in his life, the Czech still died as a result of his actions, and had no control over his death.
Happiness and Meaning Seminar Prep
Part 1
1. What is the purpose of your existence?
· The purpose of human existence is greatly mused in the short story we read called “The Ambitious Guest”. In this story, a man enters a small house containing a family, and discusses the ideologies behind his adventures, and his desire to make a monument of himself in this world. He states, “But I cannot die until I have reached my destiny. Then let death come! I will have built my monument!” This gives us the idea of fulfillment of destiny. I, myself, don’t believe in destiny, or at least the thought of a pre-meditated fate. However, it is outlined in this short story under a very broad definition. This being the belief that as long as you make your mark in this world to your own satisfaction, then you will have fulfilled your destiny. This is the meaning that many believe the purpose of their existence is based on. Others, however, believe their existence is based on the meaning they find in personal comfort, and their uncovering of happiness through this comfort throughout their lives, like the girl states, “It is better to sit here by the fire”. (I don’t know the actual page num’s, sorry! Had to look up The Ambitious Guest online, because I can’t find my reading.)
2. What is happiness and what makes one/you happy?
· I found the “How to buy Happiness” TED talk to be very relevant to the pursuit of the definition of our own personal happiness. It was found that there is a degree of mutuality in the source of happiness between many people, this being, “If you buy something for someone else, you yourself will feel happier; even more so than when you buy something for yourself.” You see, humans actually find happiness in the attempt to make others feel happy, so there is a subtle community between people, where offerings to one another may lead to the happiness of the giving individual. This was actually proven with studies, such as one where they “took two groups of undergraduates, gave an amount of money to each person in the first group, told them to spend it on themselves, then gave money to each person of the other group, and told them to spend it on other members of the group”. The Results showed that “The members of the group that spent money on others ended up showing more positive results in a spike in happiness than the members of the other group.
3. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
· Stranger than Fiction did a more-than-beautiful job of portraying how individuals may find meaning in their own lives. It takes place around the life of a man who goes through a routine, day to day, doing nothing really special (“Harold would brush his teeth 72 times per row each day and night, never missing a stroke”), when one day, he becomes aware of his own imminent, soon-to-come, death. He takes it in a painful, yet beautiful way, and decides to make the best of the life he has while he still has it. He starts changing his routines, having some fun, and doing the things he’s always wanted to do, and not really been forced, in a way, to do. In the end, he has the opportunity to change his fate, but ultimately decides to stick with the death he has been granted and become aware of, as it is “more poetic, and more beautiful, than waiting and living long enough to die from choking on a mint”.
Part 2
Paul Bloom: The Origins of Pleasure
· We don’t respond to things as we see/feel them, but instead, our beliefs about what they are/where they came from.
· Always fewer originals than forgeries.
· If you believe you are consuming something more expensive/valuable, it “tastes better” to you.
· Neurological disorder where people believe loved ones have been replaced by imposters results in bad consequence.
· Things obtain value based on their histories.
· Something may look similar to something else, but the known history behind the original is what it sets it apart from the forged.
· Humans can find pleasure in pain: “The mind is it’s own place, and in itself, it can make a hell of heaven and a heaven of hell.”
I agree with a lot of what Paul has said in his TED talk. He explains that people tend to take pleasure in things more or less depending on their histories. I’ve seen this in the world, like when people pay a ton of money for some random object that was owned by a celebrity. People judge the authenticity of different things not so much based on their visible qualities, but on their histories, or even prices. I know my parents are this way even with their wines. So I do agree with what Paul has stated in his talk. This makes me consider the way I see the authenticity of the things around me, and to possibly, if worthwhile, change my previously meditated value of these things.
One question I could use during seminar, based on this, is: How do the objects around us that we own affect our pleasure, and overall happiness; in the long term, or short term?
1. What is the purpose of your existence?
· The purpose of human existence is greatly mused in the short story we read called “The Ambitious Guest”. In this story, a man enters a small house containing a family, and discusses the ideologies behind his adventures, and his desire to make a monument of himself in this world. He states, “But I cannot die until I have reached my destiny. Then let death come! I will have built my monument!” This gives us the idea of fulfillment of destiny. I, myself, don’t believe in destiny, or at least the thought of a pre-meditated fate. However, it is outlined in this short story under a very broad definition. This being the belief that as long as you make your mark in this world to your own satisfaction, then you will have fulfilled your destiny. This is the meaning that many believe the purpose of their existence is based on. Others, however, believe their existence is based on the meaning they find in personal comfort, and their uncovering of happiness through this comfort throughout their lives, like the girl states, “It is better to sit here by the fire”. (I don’t know the actual page num’s, sorry! Had to look up The Ambitious Guest online, because I can’t find my reading.)
2. What is happiness and what makes one/you happy?
· I found the “How to buy Happiness” TED talk to be very relevant to the pursuit of the definition of our own personal happiness. It was found that there is a degree of mutuality in the source of happiness between many people, this being, “If you buy something for someone else, you yourself will feel happier; even more so than when you buy something for yourself.” You see, humans actually find happiness in the attempt to make others feel happy, so there is a subtle community between people, where offerings to one another may lead to the happiness of the giving individual. This was actually proven with studies, such as one where they “took two groups of undergraduates, gave an amount of money to each person in the first group, told them to spend it on themselves, then gave money to each person of the other group, and told them to spend it on other members of the group”. The Results showed that “The members of the group that spent money on others ended up showing more positive results in a spike in happiness than the members of the other group.
3. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
· Stranger than Fiction did a more-than-beautiful job of portraying how individuals may find meaning in their own lives. It takes place around the life of a man who goes through a routine, day to day, doing nothing really special (“Harold would brush his teeth 72 times per row each day and night, never missing a stroke”), when one day, he becomes aware of his own imminent, soon-to-come, death. He takes it in a painful, yet beautiful way, and decides to make the best of the life he has while he still has it. He starts changing his routines, having some fun, and doing the things he’s always wanted to do, and not really been forced, in a way, to do. In the end, he has the opportunity to change his fate, but ultimately decides to stick with the death he has been granted and become aware of, as it is “more poetic, and more beautiful, than waiting and living long enough to die from choking on a mint”.
Part 2
Paul Bloom: The Origins of Pleasure
· We don’t respond to things as we see/feel them, but instead, our beliefs about what they are/where they came from.
· Always fewer originals than forgeries.
· If you believe you are consuming something more expensive/valuable, it “tastes better” to you.
· Neurological disorder where people believe loved ones have been replaced by imposters results in bad consequence.
· Things obtain value based on their histories.
· Something may look similar to something else, but the known history behind the original is what it sets it apart from the forged.
· Humans can find pleasure in pain: “The mind is it’s own place, and in itself, it can make a hell of heaven and a heaven of hell.”
I agree with a lot of what Paul has said in his TED talk. He explains that people tend to take pleasure in things more or less depending on their histories. I’ve seen this in the world, like when people pay a ton of money for some random object that was owned by a celebrity. People judge the authenticity of different things not so much based on their visible qualities, but on their histories, or even prices. I know my parents are this way even with their wines. So I do agree with what Paul has stated in his talk. This makes me consider the way I see the authenticity of the things around me, and to possibly, if worthwhile, change my previously meditated value of these things.
One question I could use during seminar, based on this, is: How do the objects around us that we own affect our pleasure, and overall happiness; in the long term, or short term?
Literary Analysis Essay
Human Values and the Drive for Passion
Would you rather live a short, beautiful, meaningful life, and die knowing you have achieved in life everything you could possibly want, or to live long enough to have your death come slowly and creep up on you, taking you in a less than eloquent fashion? Don Marquis illustrates that living is determined by the amount of passion one has for any one thing in his poem, “the lesson of the moth”. In this short story, a cockroach is confused by the fact that moths always burn themselves on lights, with suicidal intent. So, the cockroach encounters a moth before it sends itself flying to its purposeful death. When the cockroach questions the moth’s decision to fly itself into the light, the moth replies that it is better to be a part of something beautiful, even shortly, than to be a part of something for so long that it is not beautiful anymore. After that, the moth flies into the light, and the cockroach is left with a sense of envy, as it wishes it could be so passionate about something as the moth was. It is better to live for the sake of passion, than for the sake of living.
One’s passion may not be measured by the amount of meaning they can obtain from that specific source, but from the drive they can find within themselves to achieve that sense of accomplishment. Motivational speaker Tony Robbins, in an interview about finding success in life, stated, “Ultimately, it’s what are you willing to do? How hungry are you? How driven are you? Don’t settle,” (Robbins). Success and meaning go hand-in-hand for people when they are searching for meaning in their lives, and the more motivation they have to pursue these passions, the more meaning they are likely to find in their lives. That’s where Tony was talking about the drive to find meaning in life, as people experience bliss more meaningful than anything they could have found without having prevailed after a history of turmoil. In the last lines of “the lesson of the moth”, Archy the cockroach states,
but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself
Archy, in this part, dreams that he could be so passionate, and driven, for something that is worth more to him than even his own life. This is the idea that people may find meaning in their lives directly from the things people value most.
The values that humans hold closest to themselves define them by person over a period of time. The moth in “the lesson of the moth” says,
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
Although this is a direct statement made by the moth, it is still an opinion, and proves to show that the moth finds value in short-lived beauty. Archy disagrees with Archy when he says,
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity
These are two contrasting expressed opinions, but each correlates with the idea that beings live based on their values, as the moth lived a short, beautiful life, while Archy preferred to live a life twice the length, despite the amount of beauty. As people define themselves based on their values, they act on these values in search of the experience of richer meaning in their lives. And while these values lead to enriching and meaningful lives, people are often fooled by the illusion that they can find significance in their lives based on the materials around them.
Via the civilization of humans, different and even brilliant tools started to become manufactured and sold to people, and money came into play as a very important significance to the human race. But over time, it has claimed the livelihoods of many, many people, becoming a primary priority even internationally. This gives significance to the materials around humanity more so than even a lot of the mental or emotional values people have. The moth in “the lesson of the moth” states,
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves
This is a reflection of how the human race has caved into a false sense of security and meaning because of its lifestyle that evolves through its history of tools and implementations of materials. Humans too often focus not so much on the bare and appreciable aspects of life, but instead, and all too often on, the newest technology, or model of an outdated technology. This horror was thoroughly explored in the short story, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” (Bradbury). The narrator says, at the end of the story,
Dawn showed faintly in the east. Among the ruins, one wall stood alone. Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped and rubble and steam,
“Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is…”
In this short story, it is implied that the technology that had once been used to make the world an easier and more comfortable place to live in was, in fact, what lead to the destruction of at least some of humanity. So, instead of trying to find passion in the materials around them, humans should try to find passion in the bare aspects of life that existed even before a time of civilization.
Instead of finding importance and significance in the things that immediately surround us, we may find value in some of the bare attributes of life that we are emotionally passionate about, and we may find meaning and beauty in life after the turmoil we overcome through the bliss that is experienced in achieving a certain goal our passions lead us up to. Relate to the moth in the sense that you may find something you are so passionate about it makes life worth it, as you will experience a better, and more enriched life in having done so. Go out and find your passion, as the only way you may triumph is through the perseverance required to push through to achieve the goals you want. Then you may say you have lived a meaningful life.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains." The Martian Chronicles.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Marquis, Don. "the lesson of the moth." DonMarquiscom. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb.
2014. <http://donmarquis.com/archy-and-mehitabel>.
Robbins, Tony. "Can Drive Make You a Success?" Interview. Weblog post. Npr.org, 1
Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2013/10/25/240777690/success>.
Would you rather live a short, beautiful, meaningful life, and die knowing you have achieved in life everything you could possibly want, or to live long enough to have your death come slowly and creep up on you, taking you in a less than eloquent fashion? Don Marquis illustrates that living is determined by the amount of passion one has for any one thing in his poem, “the lesson of the moth”. In this short story, a cockroach is confused by the fact that moths always burn themselves on lights, with suicidal intent. So, the cockroach encounters a moth before it sends itself flying to its purposeful death. When the cockroach questions the moth’s decision to fly itself into the light, the moth replies that it is better to be a part of something beautiful, even shortly, than to be a part of something for so long that it is not beautiful anymore. After that, the moth flies into the light, and the cockroach is left with a sense of envy, as it wishes it could be so passionate about something as the moth was. It is better to live for the sake of passion, than for the sake of living.
One’s passion may not be measured by the amount of meaning they can obtain from that specific source, but from the drive they can find within themselves to achieve that sense of accomplishment. Motivational speaker Tony Robbins, in an interview about finding success in life, stated, “Ultimately, it’s what are you willing to do? How hungry are you? How driven are you? Don’t settle,” (Robbins). Success and meaning go hand-in-hand for people when they are searching for meaning in their lives, and the more motivation they have to pursue these passions, the more meaning they are likely to find in their lives. That’s where Tony was talking about the drive to find meaning in life, as people experience bliss more meaningful than anything they could have found without having prevailed after a history of turmoil. In the last lines of “the lesson of the moth”, Archy the cockroach states,
but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself
Archy, in this part, dreams that he could be so passionate, and driven, for something that is worth more to him than even his own life. This is the idea that people may find meaning in their lives directly from the things people value most.
The values that humans hold closest to themselves define them by person over a period of time. The moth in “the lesson of the moth” says,
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
Although this is a direct statement made by the moth, it is still an opinion, and proves to show that the moth finds value in short-lived beauty. Archy disagrees with Archy when he says,
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity
These are two contrasting expressed opinions, but each correlates with the idea that beings live based on their values, as the moth lived a short, beautiful life, while Archy preferred to live a life twice the length, despite the amount of beauty. As people define themselves based on their values, they act on these values in search of the experience of richer meaning in their lives. And while these values lead to enriching and meaningful lives, people are often fooled by the illusion that they can find significance in their lives based on the materials around them.
Via the civilization of humans, different and even brilliant tools started to become manufactured and sold to people, and money came into play as a very important significance to the human race. But over time, it has claimed the livelihoods of many, many people, becoming a primary priority even internationally. This gives significance to the materials around humanity more so than even a lot of the mental or emotional values people have. The moth in “the lesson of the moth” states,
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves
This is a reflection of how the human race has caved into a false sense of security and meaning because of its lifestyle that evolves through its history of tools and implementations of materials. Humans too often focus not so much on the bare and appreciable aspects of life, but instead, and all too often on, the newest technology, or model of an outdated technology. This horror was thoroughly explored in the short story, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” (Bradbury). The narrator says, at the end of the story,
Dawn showed faintly in the east. Among the ruins, one wall stood alone. Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped and rubble and steam,
“Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is…”
In this short story, it is implied that the technology that had once been used to make the world an easier and more comfortable place to live in was, in fact, what lead to the destruction of at least some of humanity. So, instead of trying to find passion in the materials around them, humans should try to find passion in the bare aspects of life that existed even before a time of civilization.
Instead of finding importance and significance in the things that immediately surround us, we may find value in some of the bare attributes of life that we are emotionally passionate about, and we may find meaning and beauty in life after the turmoil we overcome through the bliss that is experienced in achieving a certain goal our passions lead us up to. Relate to the moth in the sense that you may find something you are so passionate about it makes life worth it, as you will experience a better, and more enriched life in having done so. Go out and find your passion, as the only way you may triumph is through the perseverance required to push through to achieve the goals you want. Then you may say you have lived a meaningful life.
Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains." The Martian Chronicles.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Marquis, Don. "the lesson of the moth." DonMarquiscom. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb.
2014. <http://donmarquis.com/archy-and-mehitabel>.
Robbins, Tony. "Can Drive Make You a Success?" Interview. Weblog post. Npr.org, 1
Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2013/10/25/240777690/success>.
Personal Philosophy Project Proposal
Personal Philosophy Credo
Human existence, in all of its essence, plays a more-than-substantial part of the world’s existence. When humans came around, and built means of transportation, the world from before changed drastically. Once able to cross entire oceans, humans have been able to take control of a lot of the major factors of the world; they have developed the ability to create, to dream, to build mass structures, and in their numbers, they have accomplished the ability even to control the environment around them. The human race of more than 7 billion people plays a huge part in the existence of this planet, and I am only 1 in 7 billion, so do I play a major role in the world? No. It’s hard to say that I even have a role at all. I come into this world, with so many others, and I will leave this world, too.
Now, this realization was not an easy one for me to come to. Because once I had, I felt like all my life, I had been avoiding that insight. All in all, this was a tough concept for me to deal with. So, in order to deal with it, I decided that I needed to take some time to reflect on my life, and look for any point to my existence. I realized almost immediately that I, in the entirety of my life, have created no meaning. And to me, meaning meant leaving a mark on this world, making it known that I, Harrison Quick, have existed. But after a lot more reflection, I realized that although it would be very nice and meaningful to make a monument of myself by the time I die, this concept might be a little unreasonable to reach. Besides, when I think about the moment I am laying on my deathbed, I will want to look back on my own life, and realize that for myself, I have lived, and I have been happy. So, one may say that I believe meaning in life goes hand-in-hand with overall happiness, and I do believe this. So, at a general standpoint, I believe that in essence of my existence, I must be happy, and in this happiness, I will find meaning, and once I have found a constant source of meaning, I will be able to live, and I will eventually be ready to die.
Inspiration Wall Piece
This piece relates to my personal philosophy, because I talk about how the human race is a huge part of the existence of the world, and I have a mass of people I the background. But singularly, people don’t have purpose, but may find and define meaning on their own. That’s why I chose that quote.
Personal Philosophy Project Proposal
1. For me, happiness goes hand-in-hand with meaning, and once I have found meaning, I will have developed a point to my existence.
2. I want to use a song to express my philosophy.
3. I know how to play guitar, and I can put some chords together, and I think this would provide a great opportunity to get my point across, as lyrics tend to do.
4. I want the audience to gain a bit of their own personal insight on the philosophy of life, and to gain a connection with my lyrics. I think I’d sing a lot about some of the smaller things people tend to enjoy specifically (hiking, skydiving, rocky mountain climbing).
5. So, what I’d do is start off with a series of finger picking, preferably on the A-major scale. Then I’d move straight into chords, sequenced like: A, G, E, D, E. I’d start singing when I start strumming about some of the simpler things in life, that people may find meaning from. I’d try to stick to that throughout the entirety of the song.
6. I think some obstacles I’d encounter include Writer’s block, broken guitar strings, and singing off-key. Other than that, I think I’d actually be fine.
7. All I’d need would be my brain, a guitar, some paper, a chair, and soul.
8. I think this project would take anywhere between 2-8 hours, depending on the quality of the song that would be expected of me.
9. All I need is emotional support, I guess.
Human existence, in all of its essence, plays a more-than-substantial part of the world’s existence. When humans came around, and built means of transportation, the world from before changed drastically. Once able to cross entire oceans, humans have been able to take control of a lot of the major factors of the world; they have developed the ability to create, to dream, to build mass structures, and in their numbers, they have accomplished the ability even to control the environment around them. The human race of more than 7 billion people plays a huge part in the existence of this planet, and I am only 1 in 7 billion, so do I play a major role in the world? No. It’s hard to say that I even have a role at all. I come into this world, with so many others, and I will leave this world, too.
Now, this realization was not an easy one for me to come to. Because once I had, I felt like all my life, I had been avoiding that insight. All in all, this was a tough concept for me to deal with. So, in order to deal with it, I decided that I needed to take some time to reflect on my life, and look for any point to my existence. I realized almost immediately that I, in the entirety of my life, have created no meaning. And to me, meaning meant leaving a mark on this world, making it known that I, Harrison Quick, have existed. But after a lot more reflection, I realized that although it would be very nice and meaningful to make a monument of myself by the time I die, this concept might be a little unreasonable to reach. Besides, when I think about the moment I am laying on my deathbed, I will want to look back on my own life, and realize that for myself, I have lived, and I have been happy. So, one may say that I believe meaning in life goes hand-in-hand with overall happiness, and I do believe this. So, at a general standpoint, I believe that in essence of my existence, I must be happy, and in this happiness, I will find meaning, and once I have found a constant source of meaning, I will be able to live, and I will eventually be ready to die.
Inspiration Wall Piece
This piece relates to my personal philosophy, because I talk about how the human race is a huge part of the existence of the world, and I have a mass of people I the background. But singularly, people don’t have purpose, but may find and define meaning on their own. That’s why I chose that quote.
Personal Philosophy Project Proposal
1. For me, happiness goes hand-in-hand with meaning, and once I have found meaning, I will have developed a point to my existence.
2. I want to use a song to express my philosophy.
3. I know how to play guitar, and I can put some chords together, and I think this would provide a great opportunity to get my point across, as lyrics tend to do.
4. I want the audience to gain a bit of their own personal insight on the philosophy of life, and to gain a connection with my lyrics. I think I’d sing a lot about some of the smaller things people tend to enjoy specifically (hiking, skydiving, rocky mountain climbing).
5. So, what I’d do is start off with a series of finger picking, preferably on the A-major scale. Then I’d move straight into chords, sequenced like: A, G, E, D, E. I’d start singing when I start strumming about some of the simpler things in life, that people may find meaning from. I’d try to stick to that throughout the entirety of the song.
6. I think some obstacles I’d encounter include Writer’s block, broken guitar strings, and singing off-key. Other than that, I think I’d actually be fine.
7. All I’d need would be my brain, a guitar, some paper, a chair, and soul.
8. I think this project would take anywhere between 2-8 hours, depending on the quality of the song that would be expected of me.
9. All I need is emotional support, I guess.
