Gavel Gamut
By Jim Redwine
(Week of 05 October 2015)
WHEN LIFE BEGINS
I will leave the ultimate struggle over when life begins to the biologists and theologians. As to the more important query of when the enjoyment of life is maximized, I turn my thoughts to the armchair pundits and the late night comedians.
I say late night only for effect. Actually, once the clock strikes ten, I have usually already been asleep for an hour or so. However, I do have to get out of my chair in front of the television and continue my night’s sleep in bed.
Be that as it may, the issue of when life begins still must be addressed. Is it at age forty when the insanity of youth has somewhat waned? Is it when all children are out of the house? Some crass pet owners postulate it is when Fido passes into the great beyond. For some it might be when the last alimony payment is made or even the last car payment.
For some time I have been visited by the thought a happy life might require the absence rather than the accumulation of stuff. You know, stuff such as the entertainment industry and the media say one is an abject failure without. Examples might be sparkling white teeth, toenails without fungus, skin without blemishes, hair without vacancies and waistlines that are actually visible.
Of course, other more consumer type stuff such as vehicles with enough horsepower to haul a herd of horses or specialty drugs with the promise of youth and life everlasting are continuously hawked across the airwaves. Do such reminders of our mortality make you happy? Not me.
It is the absence of the clamor for things long gone or for things we never really had that may make life worth living. Maybe it’s akin to the old, but correct, formula for economic success: Spend less than we make. Or it could be what our parents tried to tell us: Live within our means and be thankful for what we have, not bitter over what we have not.
Should you have any interest in this topic of a happy life, I refer you to a book by Tom Morris, The Oasis Within. Dr. Morris, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, was a Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame. He spoke to the statewide conference of Indiana judges last month. His simple formula for success is to avoid trouble and live for success, i.e. happiness.
For those times and situations we all face that cause us stress, or worse, Morris says first Prepare our bodies and minds by exercise and training. Then Perceive our surroundings at all times, be aware.
Next we should Anticipate trouble. We know life will throw us challenges so we should try to figure out what and when they will come. Then we should Avoid them if we can and respond wisely if we cannot. Part of this wise response is to Concentrate our reactions to trouble and then Control how we deal with it. Morris calls this device for dealing with difficult situations his Triple Double for Trouble.
And for achieving success, Morris sets out his seven C’s: (1) start with a clear Conception of what we want; (2) begin your effort with Confidence; (3) keep focused on your objective – Concentrate; (4) work with a stubborn Consistency and an (5) emotional Commitment; (6) maintain a good Character, and; (7) cultivate the Capacity to enjoy your success.
In my opinion, Morris’s philosophy, that is, his advice on a way of life, is more likely to help us start living a happy life than some salesman’s tout of a new mouthwash.
