Thursday, July 26, 2018

Entry Note To Self...how we choose


How we choose what we do, and how we approach it…will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

All of us must make fundamental life choices and decide what is most valuable to us. We may opt for a life of reason and knowledge; one of faith and discipline; one of nature and freedom; one of community and altruism; or one of originality and style. We may even choose to live our lives as though they were works of art. In every case, hard work is required: Our lives are not just given to us, but need to be made. To live well is, in fact, to practice an art of living. The ways in which we find meaning, make fundamental life choices, and construct beautiful and well-lived lives for ourselves is an art form just as much as any beautiful painting.

We know what it means for a painting to be beautiful. But what about a life? Like great works of art, great people exhibit style, originality, and creativity. Maybe, then, to live well is just to practice an ART of living. But what should the values be that are important to a good life? Experiencing joyful moments, moral goodness, or friendship, for example – Are these not qualities of aesthetic beauty? Are the qualities that make a work of art good, that different from the qualities that make a life good? Is there really such thing as a "beautiful" life?

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Entry Note To Self...the art of living

Journal Entry: 12/12/18 The Art Of Living How we choose what we do, and how we approach it…will determine whether the sum of our days ...