Thread: Philosophy

Can't say I live by it, but I love this one:

"When work feels overwhelming, remember that you're going to die."

I say as long as your alive it could always get worse...when you die THEN you have something to complain about.

I also like the line from kung fu panda "yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift...thats why they call it the present"

Old thread could use a bump...

Life is a beach, enjoy it!

[QUOTE=nickedNsliced;704226]I say as long as your alive it could always get worse...when you die THEN you have something to complain about.

I also like the line from kung fu panda "yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift...thats why they call it the present"[/QUOTE

There are things in life worse than death.

Love this resurrected thread!

My outlook is if you can't laugh at yourself first then you don't enjoy living. I have an almost pity level for those that take themselves so seriously and feel that they must act - and I do mean act like it's a role they must play - and present a face to the world, in their mind, of a image that the world wants to see. They are afraid to reveal themselves in case of ridicule. These are sad people because they do not have the ability to step away from themselves and take a good look at themselves. They are also the ones that constantly seek approval and curry favor instead of having a good belly laugh at themselves and their foibles.

I love the morning because after a nights sleep I get to look in the mirror, thank the Universe for another day, laugh at how I screwed up the previous day, ponder how am I going to screw up this day and laugh at myself in advance of the day, pick my razor and shave.

And the second I sense I'm staring down the road of self pity I stop everything and listen to the Sigmund Freud section of my mind, the one that does a great imitation of Groucho Marks and the day brightens again.

Philosophy was the topic of some classes I took in college with a bunch of liberal women sitting around talking about what they were and weren't going to teach their children when they had some...ugh. In the years that followed college, I found I was in renal failure, went on dialysis, then got a kidney (a gift of life from my sister) before I ever got my first real job out of college. After the transplant and the convalescence, I went back to graduate school and got a Master's Degree in geology with a concentration in hydrogeology. I went to work in the environmental consulting field working for other people for 8 years, until I got fired one New Years Day and went home to open my own shop. One year after hustling for myself, I found that I was again in renal failure and that I would need another transplant or dialysis. I found a donor, got a transplant, but it immediately failed and put me back on dialysis. I continued working for myself on a home mode of dialysis that I could manage at home and on the road, but in 2013 my catheter got infected and I wound up back on hemodialysis - at the clinic three days a week for a minimum of four hours on the machine having my blood filtered and fluid taken off.

I'm a dog person. After my sister's transplant, and during my recovery, I learned to train hunting retrievers and got to hunt ducks in flooded timber in Arkansas while I went back to school. My gundog, Bailey, passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 11. In 2006, after going back on dialysis, I decided to get two more dogs - yellow labs, Bruce and Wayne. I ended up training both to be my service dogs since I'm officially "disabled." These days, Wayne has liver issues and has aged before his time. Bruce, on the other hand, still thinks he's a puppy and lives to work for anybody. Both of them embrace a bowl of food, any chance to get out and sniff, pee, and just be dogs. They don't judge, and even if they get yelled at or disciplined, they don't hold a grudge. They just try to do better, love unconditionally, and strive to be told they are good dogs and get to enjoy anything good to eat.

I figure if you live life more like a dog, and less like people who are critical, you will be happier. The older I get, the more I find that if I say less and nod more, and smile, people tend to like being with me more and criticizing me less. The finer things in life are all right around us if we just take the time to appreciate them! Believe me when I tell you that when I'm lying in the dialysis chair with two soda straws sticking out of my arm, and half of my blood running through tubes to a machine and back, I don't think much about philosophy of life. I try to think instead about when I will be able to scratch that itch, feel some sun on my face, get something good to eat, get to hug my pretty wife, see my beautiful daughter, pet my nice service dog, take my sick dog out for a nice pee, and enjoy another warm shower and straight razor shave (once I get the hang of it). Life could always be better, but it could also be a whole lot worse. You don't believe me? Try going to a dialysis clinic, or the hospital, or an old-folks home. Enjoy life every day. When it's gone, it's gone and like the fellow said previously, "then you'll have something to complain about." Rob

Just a few of the things I realized over the years:

It took me 60+ years to learn what the average 7 year old knows about the interactions of people; i hope to continue the learning.

On a good day I remind myself how fortunate I am. On a bad day, I also remind myself how fortunate I am.

A smile is the only thing which costs nothing to pass it forward!

Life is too serious to take solemnly!

If I throw fecal matter it splashes onto me; if I throw flowers they weigh nothing if they fall back upon me.

The only emotion which makes my life better is gratitude.


~Richard

Don't worry
A couple of sayings I try live by
"Worry gives a small thing a big shadow"
And also from a song I have
"Don't worry, as worrying is about as effective as trying to solve algebra by chewing chewing gum"

Just my life lessons, also the bride worrys about everything and no point both of us wasting our time Doing it.

Now I just tell here to go play with her buttons LOL

The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.

Mark Twain

work to live not live to work.

straight razors
good greek coffee
fishing
hunting
beach
muscle cars + hot rods