Resetting the Baseline

A friend of mine from law school posted a link to the the following article:  "Twenty-First Century Stoic -- From Zen to Zeno:  How I Became a Stoic."  Link:  http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/27/twenty-first-century-2.html.  The article does a quick comparison between the philosophies of Zen and Stoicism (which, to be honest, I was completely unfamiliar with before this article).  The author attributes his wish to study human desire and his contemplation at becoming a Zen Buddhist as the starting point for his research on Stoicism.

The idea behind Stoicism, at least as this author relates it, seems to focus on living in the moment as one way to increase the happiness in your life.  One technique the author related, which I found interesting, is negative visualization.  As I understand it, this is taking a moment in certain situations and flashing to a "worst possible scenario" for a moment.  For example, if you are saying goodbye to a friend, momentarily contemplate that you might not see this person ever again - which is certainly possible.  It's not something to dwell on, but rather just something that reminds you not to take that friend (or whatever the situation is) for granted.  The author suggests that these be "fleeting thoughts" only a few times a day.  This type of thinking "has the effect of resetting the baseline against which we measure our happiness." 

It struck me that another purpose that this type of thought process serves is to remind you on a constant basis that the life we are living is not infinite.  There will be an end.  As the author says, "...there will be a last time you drink champagne -- or water for that matter.  There will be a last time you touch the face of another human being."  Although it's not something that is very comfortable to contemplate closely, it is very, very true.   

A couple of posts I've written have referred to the difficulty I sometimes encounter in finding "joy" or "happiness" in my everyday life.  There are so many details, tasks, and reminders, and so much cacophony that sometimes it's hard to find those emotions.  I'm not sure if it is the current state of the world (see articles talking about increases in the rates of depression, for example), or if the shrinking world just allows a more comprehensive understanding of the human race as a whole, but I know I'm not the only one looking.  I think what it comes down to is how you are most able to identify the meaning in your life.  Everyone has to find his or her own definition of that, be it through religion, a philosophy, or simply a set of ground rules you've made for yourself. 

As I've gotten older, I have come to believe that the meaning I will find in my life is not necessarily some over-arching, grand goal.  As kids, we're given the message that we can be anything we want to be, and we should explore and exploit our potential to the maximum extent possible.  Typically that is assumed to be in occupational or monetary success, and the tagalong "as long as you are happy" is thrown at the end, but rarely emphasized.  I'm not sure that this order isn't backwards, and I'm not sure that we don't really need to watch the underlying message (or maybe it's completely prominent - see rampant consumerism on television every night) that nudges the real truth towards the almighty dollar sign.

One way I try to find meaning in my life involves a letting go of things I consider to be superfluous and an attempt to focus on the things that generate contentment and a quieter mind.  The interesting thing is that, what I consider to be superfluous is without a doubt something that in someone else creates the quiet mind.  Another interesting thing is that, in a few years (or maybe even a few months?), I will probably want to reexamine how things in my life are lined up in order of priority and importance; perhaps at that point, a formerly superfluous activity or item will now be one of the key items in my life. 

Irrespective of all the above rambling, I did enjoy the article on Stoicism, as it was something I was relatively unfamiliar with but has as its goal something I can identify with.  I will probably pick up a piece of information or a technique here and there and try to feed it into my regular thought process.  Maybe it will help me to occasionally reset my baseline and remind me to focus on the here and now, and not dwell on the past and future. 

Another interesting article focused on happiness and the decision making process, also posted by my friend:  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DEFD61538F934A3575AC0A9659C8B63&scp=2&sq=pursuit+of+happiness&st=cse&pagewanted=all