Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Goals in Life?

Transcendentalists had a view of life and existence that is very different from many of our modern views. They lived lives that many of us would find strange, boring, pointless, and bizarre; however, there was a reason for which they led the lives they did. Transcendentalists were not concerned with making money, achieving popularity or fame, or seeking material and superficial pursuits and pleasures. Their main objective was to experience a communion with the Over-Soul and live a live of inspiration, enlightenment, and peace. Some of their goals are : *the realization of one's union with the Universal Spirit, *the realization of the unity of all existence, *liberation from ignorance, *knowledge of the Self, or Soul, *the direct experience of Divinity. These goals led them to live lives of seclusion, meditation, and study; lives many of today's youth would abhor. My question to you, before we begin exploring further the lives of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, is : What brings meaning to your life? What are you striving to accomplish? What will bring you peace and happiness and why?

17 comments:

mell said...

i think you have to find inner peace/and a scence of self, then you can truly know what your goals are!

Mr. Farley said...

I agree with you mell, but who are you?

Anonymous said...

My goal in life as of now is to be free to make my own decisions.......i feel with "authority figures" always telling me what to do its hard to be free and creative to do my own thing....

Anonymous said...

What im trying to accomplish in life to seek an education and an understandment of life and the way it seems to affect people in different ways.

Anonymous said...

my goal in life or what i want to accomplish is to further my education so that one day i can have a successful job and i know that would make me happy. to do what i want and know that i have accomplished something and helped other people in life is also another thing.

Anonymous said...

. . .

Anonymous said...

My goal in life is to just do whatever it takes to make myself happy and the people i love happy, I don't think it matters how much money you have or what your occupation is.

Anonymous said...

I like transcendentalisn

Anonymous said...

I think that being part of the earth and nature is impotant. Being able to stand for oneself and look beyond what is infront of us. To find love for everything equally.

Anonymous said...

what brings meaning to my life is my family and friends(tha people closest to me) and learning new things everyday.

Anonymous said...

haha...correction....the

Anonymous said...

My goal in life is to continue to live a good life, do well in school and go to a good college, and after school have a sucessful job.

Anonymous said...

My goal in life is to be the most successful i can be and push myself everyday to find the happiness i want and to have a graduate college, get a good job, and eventually get married and start a family but first i need to focus getting passed high school!

Mr. Farley said...

Many of these goals are a bit broad...try to be more specific. For instance, Ryan, how are authority figures keeping you from being creative? And who are the authority figures? Erin, what do you define as a "successful job"? Kait, what is it that makes you happy? Think further and try to explain exactly what you mean.

Anonymous said...

Its not specific authority figures, its authority in general

For example, when i make a desicion that i feel is right for me, and someone whose "wiser" or older, steps in and trys to do what they think is right, i dunno i guess its hard to explain

i just wanna get to the point were i can make my own desicions and not have someone always telling me whats right and wrong...i guess

Derek said...

i agree with mell and james

J. Biggs said...

A lot of you guys are talking about happiness, and living a "good life" - getting a good job, learning, finding love, etc. I think these are everyone's goals. No one wants to be poor and friendless. What distinguishes you from others is what YOU consider happiness. Ryan, when you talk about rebelling against authority, how is this going to make you happy? Being free is only a precondition for finding happiness; it doesn't guarantee you happiness. To be happy, at least according to Thoreau, you have to choose and pursue some kind of personal, internal goal. Maybe "fulfillment" would be a better term for this kind of happiness. Think about it this way: at the end of your life, what would make you feel satisfied?