The meaning of life is hard enough to understand on its own. So our class divided the MOL into a few sub topics. Religion came up in discussion and we began researching different religions. I took Christianity into thought and when I did, I read about the views of Christianity and how it affects the meaning of life for those religious people. Then we talked to a Rabbi (Phil Rothman) from Brotherhood Synagogue and a Priest (Lawrence) from St. Stevens Cathedral about Judiasm and Christianity.
When we went to Brotherhood (20th st and 3rd) we met with Phil in the sanctuary. I never knew Phil could lead a service, but sure enough, the next night (Shabbat) he was up on the Bema leading us in Prayer. He told us about "Tikkun Olam" (תיקון עולם) which means "Repairing the World." Thats pretty much what Judiasm is about. Or atleast according to Phil Rothman. He is a very bright loving and Jewish man, both husband and father. He has learned great respect for the religion he has grown up with and then accepted. He told us a story of a boy who was ready to commit suicide, but because a new neighbor was nice and introduced himself, the boy had decided to stay around a little while. I agree with Phil about the "repairing the world" is a big part of Judiasm and that most Jews go by that rule. I find that when there is someone in need in the Synagogue, the argument is not "who has to do it" it is "who gets to do it".
Friday, November 30, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
WTHDTQEM(Draft)
People have questioned the actual meaning of life for years and years. Yet, no one (known to man) has quite figured out the MOL. They do continue to try to interpret in completely different ways. Many have written essays, blogs, and even books concentrating on trying to understand the MOL.
Irving Singer sings(not really) about the MOL. What he says is along the lines of not attacking the question directly, but looking at a different angle and rephrasing the question(thus the title of the article - Meaning of Life: Rephrasing Questions) As Singer continues to dive deeper into the question of What is the "Meaning of Life?" he falls upon other questions, concerning topics from other perspectives from other places to how can it truly have one answer?
Irving Singer sings(not really) about the MOL. What he says is along the lines of not attacking the question directly, but looking at a different angle and rephrasing the question(thus the title of the article - Meaning of Life: Rephrasing Questions) As Singer continues to dive deeper into the question of What is the "Meaning of Life?" he falls upon other questions, concerning topics from other perspectives from other places to how can it truly have one answer?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
OPP on MOL DRAFT (First draft)
You know? When asked the meaning of life, a lot of people jump immediately to say "I dont know" or something like a joke. People dodge the question, and it seems a lot of people havent really thought about it. Possibly subconsciously they have, but not that they would just answer off the top of their heads. My brother, obviously joking at first, Im sure has thought about it before. Everyone has at one point, but the truth is, no one really knows. I was happy Manny had concluded with the saying "its different for everyone." It really is!
A lot of people like to think that the meaning of life has a lot to do with happiness, or something as silly as that. People like my brother, who are overly pessimistic about life in general have a better idea of what they think it is. But does that mean that they feel better than those who dont know? Is it better to stay kept in the dark, should you question?, or should you just not care?
Jennifer is a very happy self satisfying person who ALSO loves to bring everyone else into her fun. She enjoys life, its pretty obvious, and because she knows not so much off the top of her head, but still has an idea really says something.
A lot of people like to think that the meaning of life has a lot to do with happiness, or something as silly as that. People like my brother, who are overly pessimistic about life in general have a better idea of what they think it is. But does that mean that they feel better than those who dont know? Is it better to stay kept in the dark, should you question?, or should you just not care?
Jennifer is a very happy self satisfying person who ALSO loves to bring everyone else into her fun. She enjoys life, its pretty obvious, and because she knows not so much off the top of her head, but still has an idea really says something.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Interviews
Jennifer:
I asked her what she thought the meaning of life was because I was in a class where I was learning the MOL, and she was like, that is so awesome and I really wish I had that in HS.
So, what she did, was she walked to the table, grabbed a pad and pen and jotted down ideas. she soon found that she had so much that she just needed to talk, so I typed up as much as I could get.
She constantly mentioned the idea of "Experiencing all you can" or even seeking experiences and discovering their outcomes. She was very interested in the Adventure topic. Shes a wild one who likes to do a lot of different things. She makes sure that her life has something going on in it. She is usually pretty busy and excited with partying. At the end of the day, you can only look back on memories and experiences, you must "roll with the punches" and enjoy it as much as you can. She then goes on to say life is "whatever makes you fucking happy."
Embracing your surroundings is important to her and sucking all you can out of life is a necessity. She likes to learn all that she can and believes the more you do, the more you want to do. It sounds like Jen really thought about it and continues to add more information to her opinion.
Manny
Manny first started off, without a second of thought, with 'true happiness' and he made sure I wrote down to have a feeling of content with oneself. He likes to be happy and enjoy life to the full extent."Be happy with self and decisions."
Then after he thought about it, he came to another decision, that "life is different for everyone."
That is indeed up for discussion, which makes an obvious point. Life is different for anyone!
Montana
He starts off with "Beats me!" and then I look at him and he said to procreate and advance the human species. Living the way we're "supposed" to. He has a very pessimistic way of looking at it. He doesnt like to think that we have no control and no say towards who we are.
I asked her what she thought the meaning of life was because I was in a class where I was learning the MOL, and she was like, that is so awesome and I really wish I had that in HS.
So, what she did, was she walked to the table, grabbed a pad and pen and jotted down ideas. she soon found that she had so much that she just needed to talk, so I typed up as much as I could get.
She constantly mentioned the idea of "Experiencing all you can" or even seeking experiences and discovering their outcomes. She was very interested in the Adventure topic. Shes a wild one who likes to do a lot of different things. She makes sure that her life has something going on in it. She is usually pretty busy and excited with partying. At the end of the day, you can only look back on memories and experiences, you must "roll with the punches" and enjoy it as much as you can. She then goes on to say life is "whatever makes you fucking happy."
Embracing your surroundings is important to her and sucking all you can out of life is a necessity. She likes to learn all that she can and believes the more you do, the more you want to do. It sounds like Jen really thought about it and continues to add more information to her opinion.
Manny
Manny first started off, without a second of thought, with 'true happiness' and he made sure I wrote down to have a feeling of content with oneself. He likes to be happy and enjoy life to the full extent."Be happy with self and decisions."
Then after he thought about it, he came to another decision, that "life is different for everyone."
That is indeed up for discussion, which makes an obvious point. Life is different for anyone!
Montana
He starts off with "Beats me!" and then I look at him and he said to procreate and advance the human species. Living the way we're "supposed" to. He has a very pessimistic way of looking at it. He doesnt like to think that we have no control and no say towards who we are.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
MOL
Well, there is not one simple answer for this question. It really depends on who is answering and what their life is like. But obviously this assignment has nothing to do with anyone else besides me, so I’ll write what I think. I enjoy life and I am thankful towards a lot of sources, if you will.
There are a few things that make life meaningful for me:
- Happiness is a very meaningful thing for me, because when you’re not happy you’re upset, and that’s not fun.
- Helping others to achieve is a really nice thing and helps what people call the soul.
- To fall in LOVE is one of the nicest feelings and can help to make your life worth living.
- Being rich is nice, but people always jump to assume that being rich means lots of money, any woman you want, and a house bigger than the white house. NO, this is not what I mean, I mean richness as in a family who loves you and cares for you, a spouse who understands how to make you happy, and anything else worth treasuring.
- Health is so important to life, it means a lot! With out it, life is not fun and not so meaningful anymore.
- Etc. is a simple statement, more or less the stuff from ‘being rich’ and the rest of the small things not so worth mentioning yet.
- And last but not least, To enjoy it is I think maybe the most important and meaningful part of life, with out joy and excitement life can not be enjoyable and is no longer worth living.
When this question is asked, millions of things come to mind, or at least to my mind. I had made a list of a few things, consisting of happiness, prosperity, love, acceptance, and health. To have a meaningful life, a lot must be accomplished. To learn how to completely do these tasks, you first have to experience other things and learn from those experiences. Life should be enjoyable. At the end of the day, you should be able to look back and be able to say "wow, that was worth it"
Life should be fun and worth it. It is up to you to decide what makes life worth it. What and why it would or could be interesting. I like my life, and what makes me enjoy life varies. I absolutely love being in love, having a girl make me happy every day and makes me enjoy my life. It is such an amazing feeling. I like to be happy and laugh when ever I can. Enjoyment consists of many things. Whether it is figuring out the Rubik's Cube, or if its someone or many people who excite you, life will always have something to look back on and be able to enjoy.
Goals are always decided early on and modified as years go on. Some times they are deleted from thoughts, completely changed, some times new ones are created, and different levels of expectations change. Whether you fallow through or not is up to you, but if you feel like succeeding in life is important, then it is vital to complete or best fit your goals.
Everyone will die one day and not too many people like to discuss that, let alone admit it. Everyone is afraid of the idea that life is too short, but people are too busy thinking that, that life itself passes by without notice and they haven't been able to fully live their life. I feel that you need to just live life as you want, because if you're on a track or "schedule" made for your life, well then what good is it. Life should be about risk taking and experiencing things you want to or not. I always say 'you cant bash it till you try it.' I truly believe this because people are so easily persuaded by their fellow friends. They don't like doing new things, or trying odd things because their girl friend said she hated it and they don't do anything fun.
People should make their own decisions and live life how ever they want. Let the meaning of life come to you instead of looking for the MOL.
There are a few things that make life meaningful for me:
- Happiness is a very meaningful thing for me, because when you’re not happy you’re upset, and that’s not fun.
- Helping others to achieve is a really nice thing and helps what people call the soul.
- To fall in LOVE is one of the nicest feelings and can help to make your life worth living.
- Being rich is nice, but people always jump to assume that being rich means lots of money, any woman you want, and a house bigger than the white house. NO, this is not what I mean, I mean richness as in a family who loves you and cares for you, a spouse who understands how to make you happy, and anything else worth treasuring.
- Health is so important to life, it means a lot! With out it, life is not fun and not so meaningful anymore.
- Etc. is a simple statement, more or less the stuff from ‘being rich’ and the rest of the small things not so worth mentioning yet.
- And last but not least, To enjoy it is I think maybe the most important and meaningful part of life, with out joy and excitement life can not be enjoyable and is no longer worth living.
When this question is asked, millions of things come to mind, or at least to my mind. I had made a list of a few things, consisting of happiness, prosperity, love, acceptance, and health. To have a meaningful life, a lot must be accomplished. To learn how to completely do these tasks, you first have to experience other things and learn from those experiences. Life should be enjoyable. At the end of the day, you should be able to look back and be able to say "wow, that was worth it"
Life should be fun and worth it. It is up to you to decide what makes life worth it. What and why it would or could be interesting. I like my life, and what makes me enjoy life varies. I absolutely love being in love, having a girl make me happy every day and makes me enjoy my life. It is such an amazing feeling. I like to be happy and laugh when ever I can. Enjoyment consists of many things. Whether it is figuring out the Rubik's Cube, or if its someone or many people who excite you, life will always have something to look back on and be able to enjoy.
Goals are always decided early on and modified as years go on. Some times they are deleted from thoughts, completely changed, some times new ones are created, and different levels of expectations change. Whether you fallow through or not is up to you, but if you feel like succeeding in life is important, then it is vital to complete or best fit your goals.
Everyone will die one day and not too many people like to discuss that, let alone admit it. Everyone is afraid of the idea that life is too short, but people are too busy thinking that, that life itself passes by without notice and they haven't been able to fully live their life. I feel that you need to just live life as you want, because if you're on a track or "schedule" made for your life, well then what good is it. Life should be about risk taking and experiencing things you want to or not. I always say 'you cant bash it till you try it.' I truly believe this because people are so easily persuaded by their fellow friends. They don't like doing new things, or trying odd things because their girl friend said she hated it and they don't do anything fun.
People should make their own decisions and live life how ever they want. Let the meaning of life come to you instead of looking for the MOL.
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