Wait.
Don’t scroll down past this introduction to get right to the three philosophies.
Because I promise you, this is equally important.
My teacher always says, if we find even one line in a book valuable, the book has paid for itself. And it’s often not the message of the book that sticks but something else – a word, a character, a musing.
Perhaps it’s not the three philosophies you may find most valuable in this article.
He was the little girl’s only hope of survival.
The doctor explained the situation to the little boy and asked if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. He hesitated for only a moment before he took a deep breath and said, “If it will save her, I’ll do it.”
As the transfusion progressed, he saw the colour returning to his sister’s cheeks and smiled. And then, his smile faded.
In a trembling voice, he asked the nurse, “When will I start to die?”
The little boy had thought that to save his sister, he would have to die. And he had chosen to give his blood anyway.
Philosophy 1:
Always make the kinder choice.
I stay in an ashram in the remote Himalayan foothills of North India. Every morning and evening at 7:00 AM, the daily prayer is sung.
Now, the prayer is a lead-and-follow: the priest sings one line, we repeat; he sings the next line, we repeat and so on.
The priest’s singing is slow and melodic. To my ears, the residents’ singing, as we repeat, is hurried. We rush through the lines, taking barely any time to savour the beauty of the verses.
To a fellow resident’s ears, however, it sounds just fine. We ended up arguing over it as we were each convinced that we were right.
In life, we are constantly presented with a choice – do we want to be right or do we want to be kind?
I could have gracefully conceded and backed away. It would have saved us time and energy. More importantly, I would have made the kind choice – of allowing someone their freedom of expression, of allowing them their peace of mind.
But at the moment I was presented with the choice, I wanted to be right.
Today, I would choose differently.
The little boy in the story made the kindest choice of all – he was willing to give up his life to save his sister’s.
It’s a sacrifice beyond the imagination of the average human mind.
If you have the privilege of choosing, always make the kinder choice.
A young man once approached Socrates, the philosopher, for advice.
“What is the secret to success?”
Socrates smiled. “Meet me by the river in the morning and I’ll tell you.”
The next morning, the young man met Socrates by the river bank.
“Come,” said Socrates. “Walk with me into the river. Don’t be afraid.”
The young man hesitated but walked in with him. Slowly, they waded in deeper and deeper until the water reached their necks. Just as the young man began to fear that he would lose his footing, Socrates abruptly turned and dunked him in the water.
He began to struggle but Socrates was strong. The more he struggled, the harder Socrates shoved. His face began turning blue. His life flashed before his eyes.
Just as he began blacking out, Socrates let go, pulling him to safe ground. He gasped and coughed, taking in deep breaths of life-giving oxygen.
When he steadied himself, Socrates asked him calmly, “So, what did you want the most when your head was in the water?”
The young man looked at him disbelievingly. “Air!”
“There you go then,” said Socrates with a benevolent smile. “That’s your secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, you will have it. There is no other secret.”
Philosophy 2:
Create the life you want to live.
Growing up, I always felt I would live differently. I hated the thought of a 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM job, of settling into a routine, of living a “settled” life.
I wanted to fly free.
The problem? I kept waiting for it to happen – for a big moment, a life-changing event, a grand reveal of life’s purpose.
It took me much too long to understand the simplicity of Philosophy 2: I had to create the life I wanted to live.
What did I want if not a settled life? Travel? A higher calling? Teaching?
Nothing and everything appealed to me. Which was the issue.
If I didn’t know what I wanted, how would life show it to me?
For life to show me my purpose, I had to create it first. And I had to want it as badly as the young man wanted air when he was being drowned.
Philosophy 2 is not a secret. But it’s surprising how few know of it.
Finding your purpose is in your hands. And its reward is equally magnificent – contentment, joy and how to be at peace with yourself .
A little wave was bobbing along in the ocean, having the time of his life. He frolicked about, enjoying the wind, until he noticed all the waves in front of him crashing onto the shore.
“Oh my God!” he thought. “This is terrible! Is this to be my fate?”
He began panicking, travelling hither and tither in a frenzy. He bumped into another wave who noticed his distress.
“Hey there, little buddy,” he said gently. “What’s up?”
“We’re all about to crash onto the shore!” said the little wave agitatedly. “We’re about to face our end and become nothing! Isn’t it awful?”
The second wave smiled. “Oh, little one. You are yet to see. You are not just a wave. You are part of the ocean. You are endless.”
Philosophy 3:
Reality is One.
Do you know what humanity’s uniqueness is?
We all believe we are special.
We all believe we are different and there is nobody like us.
True. There is nobody quite like us.
On the flip side, we are all alike. Because we originate from the same source – Nature, God, Universe, Divine – whatever name we want to give it.
Philosophy 3 is slightly different because this philosophy is not entirely in our hands. This experience is given to us when we are ready for it.
But reminding myself that we are the same helps me live a compassionate, mindful and grateful life every day. It reminds me to keep making the kinder choice and to keep creating the life I want to live.
It bolsters my reason to live.
It gives me my purpose.
And it shows me humanity’s capacity for greatness and love.
What are your philosophies of life? If you don’t have any, why not create some? It gives every day a direction and meaning.
It creates value – just like this article hopefully did 😊
(Stories picked from this beautiful page.)
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