"Better than Cosmo! Others just recite facts, but I like your posts best because of the in-depth analysis."
"Great work! Your stuff is a sight for sore eyes in this wash of dumbed down crap for the masses I see all the time on the internet."
"Greg is a dapper gent, intelligent, and easy to hang with. He made me feel right at home in his film noir-esque lair. We talked at great length about books, influences (we both write), and on a broad range of topics that might cause one to raise an eye brow while pondering. He was great fun to roam the city with. I'm looking forward to another round of pursuing art exhibits and deep dialog over late night coffees the next time we cross paths."
"Greg! Thank you so much! I will not forget this! Your help will make it easier for me to secure a job when I get back home from Switzerland!"
"Dude I hate to write you about this again but those nutrition tips you sent me were a fucking godsend. Anyway, I do appreciate ya... you're a good egg."
"Dear Mr. Greg: You are creative and amusing... two things I find irresistible. If I didn't live so far away, I'd go after you myself! Thanks for all the laughs."
"Hey thanks for all the stuff on girls and relationships. I was up reading last night for like 3 hours. We had an earthquake not too long ago here in California, but man, some of the stuff you wrote shook me more than the quake!"
"I have to say, you provided several hours of entertainment for me just now. It is a great thing to know there are other people with similarly twisted senses of humor and intelligence. Thank you very much Greg Thompson, and good luck with the woman of your dreams. Should you ever feel the need to entertain me again, please feel free to do so, I'll take it any way I can get it."
"He may not have the following like many of the guru's out there, but I'd bet my bottom dollar that Greg is one of the best copywriters in America today."
"You're a very quotable man, Greg. I loved some of your bits of wisdom so much I posted them on my Facebook! It's easy to tell many of the things you say come from a place of true experience."
"Greg did work for our tour company for several years. What impresses us most about him is his ability to combine the technical know-how with the creative side of advertising to produce results faster. Instead of hiring a copywriter, artist, and web guy, we can get all of that and more in one savvy individual."
"The best thing I like about your writing is how I feel the presence of your heart among the words. You say what you mean and do what you say. I admire the authenticity of your beliefs even though I don't always agree completely."« How To Enjoy Your Life More: Part 4 – 11 Questions To Measure Your Happiness | Home | How To Enjoy Your Life More Part 6: Your Deathbed Review »
How To Enjoy Your Life More: Part 5 – Reaching Nirvana
August 11, 2008
Nirvana’s a term that’s been flippantly tossed around, so its true meaning has muddled over time.
It’s not a location.
It’s not a band.
It’s a state of mind.
Nirvana is the Buddhist term for the quiet state of peace and pure pleasure that can only be found in one’s own private, innermost theater of experience. It’s a place of escape, where life’s sorrows and tribulations fall away and a state of pure bliss is experienced.
It is glimpsed in fleeting moments by the athlete who executes a flawless play of superhuman proportions, by the dancer whose movements become one with the music, and by the lone monk who (supposedly) achieves absolute stillness of mind and spirit. It is the ideal psychological state of harmony and peace.
…And it’s a real bitch to attain.
Every human on the planet has an innate knowledge of nirvana, perhaps from those carefree days in the womb. The trick is to recapture that delirious feeling of safety and sheer bliss.
As we have seen throughout history, attempts to return to the blessed state have involved a dizzying array of practices, but many of history’s grand schemes and experiments have been far too ambitious. Perhaps permanent nirvana is beyond our grasp, but it’s nice to know that little glimmers and spectacular moments are achievable. Whether you take them or leave them is entirely up to you.
You Can’t Take It With You was a wildly successful play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart that went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1936. In 1938, it was released as a film directed by Frank Capra and starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, and Jimmy Stewart.
The premise was simple: A sane girl from a nutty family becomes engaged to a rich boy from a stuffy family. Misunderstandings abound as the rigid stiffs clash with the free-spirited loons, discipline vies with conformity, and hilarity ensues.
But the underlying message of the work itself is not so much metaphorical as it is simple fact: Life is there for the living, and the pressure to measure up to someone else’s imagined ideal is a big bag of shit. In the end, you can’t take it with you.
(Special note: I used to mock the idea of “can’t take it with you” by saying “Of course not, I’m not doing all this so I can take anything ‘with’ me, I’m doing it so I can live a better life NOW.” And yes, that’s right, but it wasn’t the point of the original quote. The original quote was meant to apply to people trying to live in order to please others instead of themselves.)
Bottom line is: What are you living for? What is the point of accumulating massive wealth and never enjoying it? What are you building that’s so damn important, anyway? And if you have kids, wouldn’t you be better off leaving them with a deeply rooted understanding that life is a spectacular adventure to be embraced, rather than leading them to believe the standard old party line of “Go to college, get a job, and work for the rest of your life so your kids might have something better?”
Yes, it’s entirely possible to have the money AND be able to enjoy it; but the problem is, most people go about making money all wrong, and end up wasting their lives in pursuit of the big dream that never quite arrives.
Yes, I’ll be the first to say having money makes life easier. Way easier. But if the way you’re making that money compromises your most valuable asset, your time, then it could lead to serious headaches. Money without happiness is meaningless; I have first-hand experience of that.
Happiness begets more happiness and misery draws in more of the same. Like magnets, we draw unto ourselves that which we emit and we repel that which is contrary to our mindset. Focus on the negative, wallow in your own bad basis, and you will draw even more of it into your orbit. Instead, visualize the life you want, keep it in mind EVERY SINGLE DAY, believe it is happening now, and you will slowly begin to move toward it.
So, if you can’t take it with you, it only makes sense to enjoy it while you’ve got it. Do not waste your power, your energy, your youth, your vitality, or the moment at hand. It will all disappear before you even know it.
And to me personally sitting here just having turned 26 last month, those last few words are a truly frightening thought.
10 Things That Are Temporary
1. Youth
2. Romantic infatuation
3. Six-pack abs
4. Your job
5. Your troubles
6. Professional importance
7. Relationships
8. Debt
9. Hemorrhoids
10. Life itself
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Tags: bliss, hedonism, hedonist, hedonistic, life, life lessons, money, nirvana, relationships, the secretTopics: Philosophy | No Comments »
