Let me start by assuring you that this not going to be about my favorite recipes, preferred toilet paper or even my approach to healthful living though it may loosely fit the latter.
How I live is to a degree a statement of how I cope with or manage life.
Firstly, let me put forth a simple definition of life as an organism attempting to survive. You may have a better one but amuse me.
In the attempt to survive, we utilize our intelligence to recognize problems about survival then once known, apply our minds to solving the problem. Complex problems are still similar but could have levels or degrees of the bigger problem broken down into more manageable ones etc. Problem solving is actually a studied subject or field. Here are a few statements about it from so called experts:
- Problem-solving involves a structured process, generally including identifying the problem, developing a plan, solving it, and reflecting on the outcome.
- A key part of success is not just having knowledge, but also understanding how to apply strategies, monitor progress, and regulate one's own thinking (metacognition).
In the game of life, it can be likened to chess. Some do not know their is a game going on. Some suspect it but do not see the chess board. Some see the chess board but choose to ignore it. Others see the chess board and choose to play but can only see the actions of and being a pawn. Others with better viewpoints and perspective gain positions of more power and latitude like Rooks, Knights, Bishops and the Kings and Queens. It does not take a lot of looking or self inspection to see where you might be on the chess board. I hazard a guess by saying at least 50% are unaware their is a game going on, 25-35% are aware of it but ignoring it, 10-15% are pawns and maybe 5-10% are the more powerfully aware and are the maneuvering pieces like Rooks, Knights, Bishops and the 0.001% of Kings and Queens… These are not hard and fast but just gut feeling guesses. Take your own guess and let me know how it stacks up.
In order to live, one must see problems then act upon their solutions. This has a scope. Those at the lower end of the “game awareness” spectrum will be heavily occupied handling problems thrust upon them unwittingly. They do not look out in time and for the most part react rather than proactively plan and act. I will not say they are doomed but they historically get the brunt of life's worst outcomes. These group tend to be superstitious and/or look for explanations everywhere but in the mirror. As this scope progresses you could describe it as Responsibility being born and fostered with less and less blame to others or the ultimate curse blaming God. God more or less did his thing by creating the chess board, our playing field if you will or Universe. After that it's game on and he watches or not depending on his schedule.
The scope mentioned also has a sphere or filed of vision associated with it. Peering from a ditch provides little useful vision but from a mountain top one can see a lot if looking. So the concept is simple, having more space or area within one's field of vision (you could just say perception) allows a much better opportunity to see what is coming (problem) and plan a solution (use of the mind's intellectual power) and enact the plan to reach a solution/resolution making adjustment s along the way until the problem is solved. Of course any problem could change along the way so this is not a static thing but a living dynamic one. Problem solving is in fact a sign of life if not largely life itself.
I imagine a life where 8 hour work days are spent devoting 2 hours looking at the biggest view one can assume to see the big stuff coming, then 2 hours realistically identifying the problem(s) to be solved, then 1 hour planning for solutions and 1 hour acting upon plans to solve them, then 2 hours making a living. That seems about right and by default states the priorities.
The less bright and most uniformed will spend 18 hours making a living and if they can, catch 6 hours of exhaustion calling it sleep.
So I live as much as I possibly can on the 2,2,2 1,1 2 plan as outlined above.
Intellect is not merely brain cells. It is that certain intangible part of human beings that allows all experience to coalesce in the mind and be manipulated using imagination and other mental devices to resolve issue i.e. identify and resolve problems re-survival.
So, if God has given you an intellect, it is incumbent upon you to utilize free will and make it work toward surviving. If you are not surviving than what are doing? I laugh, but the answer is simply its dichotomy…succumbing. A decision might be advised here to answer which you will engage yourself in…Survival or Succumbing. Even an amoeba is trying to survive and there are some really top notch survivors among our invisible to the naked eye friends, bacteria and viruses. Hell, if they can do it on a chemical level we should beat their pants off of them with actual brains. It should be noted here that I personally recognize that brain cells are not me nor are they the mind ,as I am using in this writing. Surely the brain has a function to take mental ideas etc. and channel them into the body whether personal or at large like society's body. But i see that as more of the Amoeba approach that needs guidance to stay focused and transmit the need signals ( big discussion on neurological stuff can be had).
The spirit, which I also recognize as myself, my most basic simplest self is the observer on the mountain top and i posit it to be infinite. You could say in God's image.
I hope this gives you some ideas and perhaps stimulates the way you live. And by the way I like Lasagna like my Nona made and Charmin Soft and of course Amoebas.
Best,
Donn Marier
DM -Your Own CFO