Comments on: Aging is Destiny http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/ Sun, 25 Mar 2012 04:05:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Harvey http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/comment-page-1/#comment-6896 Harvey Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:00:47 +0000 http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/#comment-6896 My questions about aging - beginning with me - are everyday, but also thinking about my "longest life." As I ask my students in their "Contracts" thinking about the distant future time when they would look back, and ask themselves: "Have I lived a good life? - I find it important to frequently ask if I am moving on, exploring with some senses of growth, expansion, overcoming maybe toward wisdom, being a "better" person. For me as a teacher, I truly love the idea of "inspiring the future" for at least some of my students, and to need to "love each day," complicated as that might be. I try to "walk" through life with some of the heaviest "heads" of today and history, and ask ourselves how to do this life and world "better." Isn't boredom a "choice" - or just a fall-back position? My questions about aging – beginning with me – are everyday, but also thinking about my “longest life.” As I ask my students in their “Contracts” thinking about the distant future time when they would look back, and ask themselves: “Have I lived a good life? – I find it important to frequently ask if I am moving on, exploring with some senses of growth, expansion, overcoming maybe toward wisdom, being a “better” person. For me as a teacher, I truly love the idea of “inspiring the future” for at least some of my students, and to need to “love each day,” complicated as that might be. I try to “walk” through life with some of the heaviest “heads” of today and history, and ask ourselves how to do this life and world “better.” Isn’t boredom a “choice” – or just a fall-back position?

]]> By: Anonymous http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/comment-page-1/#comment-6842 Anonymous Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:37:22 +0000 http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/#comment-6842 It seems like we are pretty boring with our practice of the Good Life. Like you said, golf, drugs, travel, TV, drugs, etc. We continue to do the same thing over and over again, always with the same results (if we're lucky). 12-Step groups practice the Good Life as an experiment of daily ethic. Most people have some sense of who they want to be, hence, the experiment: just for one day, practice doing what you think your Best Self would do. Many addicts wish that they could BE good, but what they find upon entering AA/NA is that they must DO good, and BEING good will come. How that BEING feels or materializes is sometimes quite different then what was expected. If the results seem promising the experiment continues. If they seem uncool in some way, practices are reflected upon, then changed or discontinued if necessary. And if all else fails, anyone can always go back to boredom. It seems like we are pretty boring with our practice of the Good Life. Like you said, golf, drugs, travel, TV, drugs, etc. We continue to do the same thing over and over again, always with the same results (if we’re lucky).

12-Step groups practice the Good Life as an experiment of daily ethic. Most people have some sense of who they want to be, hence, the experiment: just for one day, practice doing what you think your Best Self would do. Many addicts wish that they could BE good, but what they find upon entering AA/NA is that they must DO good, and BEING good will come. How that BEING feels or materializes is sometimes quite different then what was expected. If the results seem promising the experiment continues. If they seem uncool in some way, practices are reflected upon, then changed or discontinued if necessary.

And if all else fails, anyone can always go back to boredom.

]]> By: Anonymous http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/comment-page-1/#comment-34900 Anonymous Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:37:00 +0000 http://harveysarles.com/2007/07/08/aging-is-destiny/#comment-34900 It seems like we are pretty boring with our practice of the Good Life. Like you said, golf, drugs, travel, TV, drugs, etc. We continue to do the same thing over and over again, always with the same results (if we're lucky). 12-Step groups practice the Good Life as an experiment of daily ethic. Most people have some sense of who they want to be, hence, the experiment: just for one day, practice doing what you think your Best Self would do. Many addicts wish that they could BE good, but what they find upon entering AA/NA is that they must DO good, and BEING good will come. How that BEING feels or materializes is sometimes quite different then what was expected. If the results seem promising the experiment continues. If they seem uncool in some way, practices are reflected upon, then changed or discontinued if necessary. And if all else fails, anyone can always go back to boredom. It seems like we are pretty boring with our practice of the Good Life. Like you said, golf, drugs, travel, TV, drugs, etc. We continue to do the same thing over and over again, always with the same results (if we’re lucky).

12-Step groups practice the Good Life as an experiment of daily ethic. Most people have some sense of who they want to be, hence, the experiment: just for one day, practice doing what you think your Best Self would do. Many addicts wish that they could BE good, but what they find upon entering AA/NA is that they must DO good, and BEING good will come. How that BEING feels or materializes is sometimes quite different then what was expected. If the results seem promising the experiment continues. If they seem uncool in some way, practices are reflected upon, then changed or discontinued if necessary.

And if all else fails, anyone can always go back to boredom.

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