I suppose my view of life, the universe and everything is that, when looking at my core person, the right way to live seems to me to be a) relaxed, which implies being fearless & cheerful, and b) alert, which implies working, thinking & doing your best. I suppose, logically speaking, there's no reason for an athiest to be relaxed, and there's no logical reason for a theist who believes in an afterlife to be alert, but I believe that we're meant to be perfectly relaxed and perfectly alert at the same time.
Above all, I believe a) That we are not meant to live in fear & despair, even though objectively speaking there's quite a lot to be afraid of, and quite a lot to regret. b) That the universe plays fair. It cannot ask us to live fearlessly & with good cheer unless there is really nothing to fear, and no cause for despair.
My temperament is probably such that I find it fairly easy to be relaxed, but needed, and need, to be more alert, aware of the importance of our choices and the
value of a single life.
Arthur Silber - Flecks of Light, Points of Understanding, and the Gift of Sight: All Things Are Connected
posted by Anonymous at 1:51 PM