Life is too short.

[zheer]

    Ok just had a quiet think at a lockal park on my own, its a beautifull suny day not too cold not to hot,the heat of the sun covering me like a warm blanket, the horse's are out and resting, a number of people at the park with friends family and children. Anyway after reading through a news paper on a park bench facing a small river,  feeling lazy ,chilled and suprisingly happy even though i wont be going to university to study music,rejected again. I relaized that am one third of the way through my life, 26 years of age, as i read about current politics,war, terror the lives of the rich and famous like paris hilton and her arrest and even the lives of ordinary people, i realize that life is too short to be unhappy and to dwell on the past and to dwell on the lives of others,or to think too much about world events.
   Ok so whats the point of this thread, well have you ever reached a point where thing seem rather different as an adult, a point where you have reached a conclusion on most things in life,including who you really are what makes you happy or sad, well as i was reading the news paper with its statistics on the number of people who feel uneasy about living next door to muslims, or the generall discontent people have with modern day life. This amongs other things has got me asking questions like do i wont to live in England, shall i stay or shall i go, just pack my bag and live and work in south of france, a change in life style. Learn a new language meet new people, live life rather than simply to go through life  aimlessly. Anyway i have nothing to hold me back , am a free me,can do what i wont,shall i go or shall i stay?

[pianistimo]

some people like the bohemian life - and thrive on the freedom of being able to travel.  others like more structure.  it's really whatever makes you happy and still allows you to work and support yourself.

for me, whenever one thing didn't work out - something else did.  self-employment can fill in the holes where you can't find a steady job.  there are many children who do not know how to speak arabic and would probably pay a really good price for tutoring.  not sure you want to tutor languages?

for me, i tutored english and have a really great method book for that which includes not only learning the letters and sounds - but also adds in methodically the rules of grammar in an easy way.  of course, on threads i sometimes don't add the punctuation as i would writing a paper.  for instance, you are supposed to use quotations within quotations " ' and so forth - but in writing messages - i just don't bother.  speed has always been the issue here.  going between capitals and lowercase slows me down typing.

anyways, if you want a sort of 'model' tutorial for teaching a language - i could tell you more about this method for teaching english.  i think it is quite helpful - as my middle daughter learned to read fluently before first grade and was reading easy books in kindergarten.  also, with all the wealthy people there - teaching piano lessons is always an option.  and, math/science tutoring.  if i understand right - there are pockets of very wealthy people over there and like to have individualized study for their children during and/or after school. 

if you move to the south of france - it would be very tempting to do nothing but sit around the beach.  you could become a famous artist or harmonica player - but i wonder what would happen to your piano skills?  unless there are lots of playing possiblities in the various nightclubs around.  it doesn't sound that appealling except for vacation.  but, then again - i've never been there.

[zheer]

  You always give very good advice pianistimo, infact when your not talking about religion you are pretty cool. Anyway the past few months i have been seeing a very good privat therapist , well this person has helped me a lot with my very dark and troubled past, so if you can imagin there is a lot of talking ,thinking and going back in time. This is possibly the reason why this thread was written, well this person is helping me deal with things i had been unable to deal with or process as a child, the result is very good,  few mood swing no bad temper and so on. So basically when you solve personal issues, it is easier to move forward in life, music is going to be just a pass time, so the question remains if one third of my life has passed haw shall i spend the remaining two thirds of my life provided that i dont get run over by a buss. LOL this is going to be the "what is the meaning of life thread".

[pianistimo]

ok.  no religion here.  i'm really glad that you found a great therapist.  i hope that the longer you remain around the area that you are in - the more you will also find friends that connect you with wherever you want to be.  if there is an area of study you find facinating - still go over to the university and get to know some of the profs.  they will give you much better advice than me.  don't eliminate uni from your mind completely.  as you say - one thing at a time.  perhaps there is a job on campus that will kind of get your foot in the door.  once people get to know you better - there is nothing to fear.  i believe that you have to connect with people in your community too, to socialize.  if they are moderate in their views - you will not be singled out. 

i understand a bit where you are coming from.  christians feel the same way.  sort of like chopin.  you are in a world but do not fully socialize and conceptualize things exactly like everyone else.  in fact, you might have radically different personal views.  the thing is - BE POSITIVE.  HELP PEOPLE.  BE KNOWN FOR GOOD ACTIONS.  noone can accuse you of anything when you prove that you are a known quantity in the community for service.  start making it a project to just do something random once in a while that is for your particular community.  it can be as simple as visiting people in a hospital or retirement community.  plant some trees.  make something beautiful.  it is hard for people not to try to help those that are helping others at the same time.

ps i find nature very reassuring, too.  it makes you feel free and happier.  especially if you are working through some kind of problem.  it's much better, imo, to work through things and not tell very many people 'i didn't get into uni'  or things that you feel depressed about.  this is a hard thing sometimes - even if you accept it.  others might not and hold it against you.  the less you tell negative things - and the more you tell positive - people believe you can do a good job of whatever you are setting out to do.  my husband found this out when unemployed.  if you just work at odd jobs and don't complain - you'll find the perfect job in no time.  he learned to be positive despite some setbacks and is in a job that is appreciating his skills now (as many jobs at the time he was overqualified for).  it's a catch-22 for awhile - to be happy despite circumstances and appear that you are successful even when you are still looking for work or school.  dress the part!

[thalbergmad]

Pack up your rucksack, visit the World and chill.

[leucippus]

Zheer,

If I may, I would like to comment on your factional analysis of life and suggest that the mathematics is not as straight-forward as you may think.  In my mind, you are not 1/3 of the way through your life, on the contrary you are just starting out.

Time is not an absolute rigid fixed thing that you can easily divide up into fractions.   That perception comes from the illusion of clocks.  But in reality you don't perceive time like a precision machine.   Some days fly by, other's seem to last forever.  Some years fly by, other's seem to last forever.  Some decades fly by, others seem to last forever.

I'm 57 years old.  Over twice your age.  Yet I don't feel that I'm any nearer to the end of my life than I did when I was your age.  Sure, I could croak tomorrow.  But then so could you!

Of much more importance, looking back on my life there where many more than 3 chapters.  By that I mean that I'm hardly in the last third of my life.  I had a childhood period, a teen period, and young man period (where you are now).  Buy then I had a whole slew of periods between then and now.   I mean there were many more chapters in my life than merely 3.  And each of those chapters seems to have been a lifetime in it’s own right.   There must have been more like 10 or 20 of them.  And all of those occurred AFTER 30. 

Life is not what it appears to be on the surface.  You are not 1/3 of the way through your life.  You are just starting out.  So toss your clocks away and just experience the trip.  When you get to be my age (and older) you'll just laugh when you see a clock on the wall and say to it, "What the hell do you know?"

Just do your thing and don't think about racing against any temporal hour glass that's inexorably draining away your life.  Don't even think about how much time you have left.  You have no idea how much time you have left.  You might not live to read this internet post!  And then again you might live for so long you'll start to wonder whether life is ever going to be over with!  Trust me, I know!

Strip yourself of your temporal anxieties and just savor every moment for however long it may last.

And finally, the best advice I can possibly give you is to push yourself now to learn as much as you can on the piano whilst you are playing it.  You're currently in a place in life where you can learn fairly quickly.   Later in life you will be wishing that you still had the ability to do the things you could do when you were 26.   So do yourself a favor and put your nose to the grindstone now.   Every time you catch yourself sitting around philosophizing about clocks STOP.  Stop time dead in its tracks and jump on that piano!  If you're going to race the clock, race it with your fingers running up and down the keyboard.

All else will take care of itself.

[gruffalo]

that park sounds like Osterley Park.

[zheer]

   leucippus you sound like a wise person, your comment is very positive infact i read through it a number of times, it made me realizet haw silly it is to divide life into sections.

    Yes gruffalo it is Osterly Park good guess.LOL

[gilad]

Life is terribly short, if I had my choice, I would be Spanish, German, French, Arab, A doctor, a musican, a farmer, a scientist, a jew, a christian, a muslim, a hindu, a bird, a whale, a snail, in the 1600's , the mid ages, biblical period. but then perhaps i would be God or something. so yes we have a limited amount of time to fulfill our greatest dreams, and to decide on them. You're still young Zheer, so am I at 24, we have lots to learn about life. But one thing I have learned is that it is best spent enjoying yourself, and living without fears.

[leucippus]

There was never a time when I was not, nor will there ever be a time when I will cease to exist.  Our physical existence is merely an illusion, even scientists have told us so. 

Take Einstein's Relativity, for example.  Time slows down for things that move swiftly.  In fact, if you could travel at the speed of light, time for you, would stand still.

Think about that. 

Light travels at the speed of light.  Therefore, for light, there is no such thing as time.  Everything happens at once.  Time is but an illusion for those of us who wander about like snails. 

So now we're faced with the ultimate conclusion.  "If there is no such thing as time.  If all that exists is now.  Then there is no time in which to cease to exist."

If you exist now, you'll exist forever, because now is forever, and forever is all there is.

[shoenberg3]

In my younger days (age 8-12), I would often not be able to sleep, occupied by thoughts of the inevitable death, concept of infinity, beginning of time and other disturbing ideas. At one point, I turned to church, trying to make a point out of this seemingly pointless world. Well, I never could completely believe the Chrsitian doctrine, and now i speak admittedly cynically about Christianity.

The importance of these questions has diminished temporarily as I am busy with high school/college apps. They will inevitably come back when I grow old, when I have more time and death becomes more imminent. I certainly hope I can answer a few of these questions by then.

[zheer]

, if I had my choice, I would be Spanish, German, French, Arab, A doctor, a musican, a farmer, a scientist, a jew, a christian, a muslim, a hindu, a bird, a whale, a snail, in the 1600's ,

       Hahaha, well i have good news for you, you can choose to be a number of those things you have just mentioned, you could work as a doctor in france change you religion and work as a farmer when retired, only kidding.
       Well on a more serious note, our life and what we do with it is always questioned analized and even shaped by others. For example as children we have school teachers at home our parents, infact up to the age of 18 most things have been decided by our gardian or teachers and examiners. Finally we have university and some choice and freedom though not much. Once out of Uni (if one does go to uni) we have employers and most of the time they decide on your fait. Lets not forget the society we live in and its rule of conduct,haw about the government most of us live abroad to escape a bad government war or some evil government policy. Switch on the TV and we are bombarded by adverts what to wear  what to eat reason why most school kids feel insecure when they look at models and the lives of rich and famous.Haw about chat shows,collectivly manipulating public thinking a form of Nazi-izm.
             Soon one reaches his or her mid 20eez friends have married ,moved abroad,relatives if one has any continue to ask personal  qestion like why are you not married ect ect. So not suprisingly a large number of people feel unhappy early on in life.     

[gruffalo]

Is it possible to "not take life for granted" or not to "waste" it, to cherish it and live every moment, because i only ever hear these things from myself once i regret something, or an event or part of my life has past.

Gruff

[rc]

Is it possible to "not take life for granted" or not to "waste" it, to cherish it and live every moment, because i only ever hear these things from myself once i regret something, or an event or part of my life has past.

Gruff

I don't know if that's possible, but it's a useful ideal to keep in mind.  The more we remind ourselves, the more we'll make better decisions for tomorrows.

[le_poete_mourant]

There was never a time when I was not, nor will there ever be a time when I will cease to exist.  Our physical existence is merely an illusion, even scientists have told us so. 

Take Einstein's Relativity, for example.  Time slows down for things that move swiftly.  In fact, if you could travel at the speed of light, time for you, would stand still.

Think about that. 

Light travels at the speed of light.  Therefore, for light, there is no such thing as time.  Everything happens at once.  Time is but an illusion for those of us who wander about like snails. 

So now we're faced with the ultimate conclusion.  "If there is no such thing as time.  If all that exists is now.  Then there is no time in which to cease to exist."

If you exist now, you'll exist forever, because now is forever, and forever is all there is.

That sounds a lot like the Trafalmagorians (spelling?) from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5.  Everything happens at the same time for them, or something like that.  Even death is existance, and it's not permanent because you go through your existence in a nonlinear way. 

An old Jewish philosophy: "Life is miserable.  And it's too short."      

I'm not a religious person, but I've recently begun to believe that death is not an end. 

[zheer]

  Hang on a momment guys,why is there so much talk about death on this thread.

[leucippus]

  Hang on a momment guys,why is there so much talk about death on this thread.

Well you were the one who starting talking about being 1/3 of the way through your life.  This implies that you're concerned about the fact that your life will eventually end.  So how else can life end but through death?

The very thread title "Life is too short" implies that you are concerned about "the end".

Death is just another word for "the end" of life.

I like to think of death as just one of the ends.  Birth is the other end.  Life is what happens between the ends.  Neither end has any special significance other than being an end in itself.

[rc]

I've heard it said many times that looking at life from death is a good way to put things into perspective.  Thinking of your own mortality really helps to see what's important in life.  Petty troubles are no longer an issue, you begin to look beyond yourself and want to make a positive impact.  Consider the possibility that you could die at any point and you see how rich life really is.  The end is nothing to fear if you live like that.

[zheer]

.  Consider the possibility that you could die at any point and you see how rich life really is.  The end is nothing to fear if you live like that.

   Yes most people that have near death experience do talk about haw they value life more and therefore live a happyer life.