What are the most important things in life? What do the proverbs, the wise sayings of man through the ages, have to say on this point? Let us search them. If we did so we would come up with the following list:
- sufficient food to eat
- a good wife (or mate)
- good health
- a good conscience
- a good name
- wisdom, good sense, spiritual truth, understanding of life
Now let us ask another question. What things are most commonly pursued by man? What does the common, ordinary man pursue in life? We can list them:
- temporary pleasure (gratification of appetites)
- material possessions, wealth - social position, being "important"
- friendship, friends, acceptance by a group
When we ask the question "What are the important things in life?" what we really mean is: "What things in life bring the best happiness?" Both are just different ways of phrasing the same question.
What a person pursues in life depends on what he values. His values, basic tastes and preferences, determine his priorities and the way he occupies himself and spends his time. The most basic, underlying values of the wise man are Wisdom, Justice, Goodness, and Virtue. These are his first loves. They are what drive him, determining his tastes and preferences. The ordinary man, however, has as his first love pleasure and the other things we have listed. He occupies himself with the pursuit of Thrill and Temporary Pleasure. He focuses on the temporary pleasures available to him through catering to his base appetites. He spends his time in front of a TV set watching programs that excite his fantasies and provide him temporary thrills and erotic pleasure; he finds his pleasure in eating, sex, gambling, coarse humor, alcohol and drugs. The wise man, on the other hand, is driven by a different set of tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes. He is attracted to that which gives spiritual understanding. He is interested in the serious questions of life and society. He is interested in the problems of his fellow man. He is interested in the dilemmas of life --- spiritual, moral, economic, etc.. He is interested in spiritual and moral truth. And he tends to prefer activities that aid him in these interests -- that provide insight, knowledge, perspective, etc.. He is likely to be a lover of reflection and also of books.
What are the pitfalls of the pursuits of the common man? The problem with these pursuits is that that most of them are both illusory and, at least when taken to excess, self-destructive. And that they tend to sidetrack his energies and attention from the thing that is really important in life: the pursuit of wisdom and spiritual truth.
The truth of the matter is that the path of temporary pleasure is often filled with snares and traps. Very often it is a very different one from the one dictated by wisdom and prudence and one is forced to choose. And the way one chooses shows what kind of person he is.
- sufficient food to eat
- a good wife (or mate)
- good health
- a good conscience
- a good name
- wisdom, good sense, spiritual truth, understanding of life
Now let us ask another question. What things are most commonly pursued by man? What does the common, ordinary man pursue in life? We can list them:
- temporary pleasure (gratification of appetites)
- material possessions, wealth - social position, being "important"
- friendship, friends, acceptance by a group
When we ask the question "What are the important things in life?" what we really mean is: "What things in life bring the best happiness?" Both are just different ways of phrasing the same question.
What a person pursues in life depends on what he values. His values, basic tastes and preferences, determine his priorities and the way he occupies himself and spends his time. The most basic, underlying values of the wise man are Wisdom, Justice, Goodness, and Virtue. These are his first loves. They are what drive him, determining his tastes and preferences. The ordinary man, however, has as his first love pleasure and the other things we have listed. He occupies himself with the pursuit of Thrill and Temporary Pleasure. He focuses on the temporary pleasures available to him through catering to his base appetites. He spends his time in front of a TV set watching programs that excite his fantasies and provide him temporary thrills and erotic pleasure; he finds his pleasure in eating, sex, gambling, coarse humor, alcohol and drugs. The wise man, on the other hand, is driven by a different set of tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes. He is attracted to that which gives spiritual understanding. He is interested in the serious questions of life and society. He is interested in the problems of his fellow man. He is interested in the dilemmas of life --- spiritual, moral, economic, etc.. He is interested in spiritual and moral truth. And he tends to prefer activities that aid him in these interests -- that provide insight, knowledge, perspective, etc.. He is likely to be a lover of reflection and also of books.
What are the pitfalls of the pursuits of the common man? The problem with these pursuits is that that most of them are both illusory and, at least when taken to excess, self-destructive. And that they tend to sidetrack his energies and attention from the thing that is really important in life: the pursuit of wisdom and spiritual truth.
The truth of the matter is that the path of temporary pleasure is often filled with snares and traps. Very often it is a very different one from the one dictated by wisdom and prudence and one is forced to choose. And the way one chooses shows what kind of person he is.
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