The Examination Of Life
by Stanley Bronstein on March 6, 2010Meditation for Saturday – March 6, 2010
The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living.
(Socrates)
Unexamined – Not inspected or scrutinized carefully. Not observed; not tested; not investigated.
Life – The animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual. The corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul.
Not – Used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition.
Worth – Value. Usefulness or importance, as to the world, to a person, or for a purpose.
Living – To continue in existence, operation, memory, etc. Lasting. To maintain or support one’s existence. To experience or enjoy life to the full.
So What Is Being Suggested Here?
Focus needs to be paid to the definition of “unexamined.” Specifically, focus should be paid to observation, inspection, testing and investigation.
In other words, one must constantly look at their actions. One must either be tested by outside sources or must constantly test themselves throughout their life.
Why?
It is through examination that we grow. If we are tested, we will see areas in which we are weak and will work to improve ourselves.
If we are not tested, we will grow stale. We will stagnate. We will not grow.
Periodic Testing Is Recommended
I recommend that one examine their lives periodically and ask probing questions, such as:
- Am I where I want to be?
- Am I achieving as much as I’m capable of?
- What can I do to do better?
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Until next time, take care.
Stanley F. BronsteinHave you checked out my website that profiles the benefits of walking? iWarriorWalk.com
March 7th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Some important questions there, Stanley. Too many people coast through life on auto-pilot and never come close to fulfilling their potential. Thanks for the reminder.
Springboarding off the ideas in your post, I think it’s also important to look at what’s going right. Things like:
- What do I love in my life right now?
- What am I doing well?
- What can I celebrate?
- What am I doing right?
When we focus exclusively on what is going wrong and what we can do better, we risk sliding into a self-critical perspective. Questions focused on what’s right can balance that out and give a fuller (and more accurate) picture.
Viva la well-examined life!
March 9th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Curt:
As you so correctly said, it’s all about balance . . .
Stanley Bronstein