Secret of (to) Life
What is the
secret of life? I believe that the better question here is what is the secret to
life?
From a study
following 268 male Harvard undergraduate students from the classes of 1938-1940
for seventy-five years on various aspects of their lives, Harvard psychiatrists
found that strong relationships, connections, and coping skills are all that
really matter in life. (Gregoire,
Carolyn) Heraclitus believed that “wisdom is one thing; to understand the
though which steers all things though all things.” (Kahn, Charles H.) I
personally believe that it is a combination of both of these things along with
the personality and make up of an individual.
Strong Relationships and Connections
“If you do
not have strong relationships then it is almost impossible to live a fulling
life.” Feeling connections to your work,
friends, and community that you live in is a large part of maintaining
happiness. (Gregoire, Carolyn) When
you sit back and think about this it really does make sense. People naturally
have a need to interact with one another, whether it can be explained or not.
Personally, I feel
that the need for personable, physical social interactions has been heightened since
the invention of social media and more online dating and hook-up sites. Now
when I say physical, I do not mean interacting with someone by doing a little
bit more than a hug or a kiss. No, I mean being around people physically instead
of secretly stalking your old high school crush on Facebook to see if you
really were their type all along.
Though observation of my single roommates,
they are constantly trolling social media sites that will allow them the opportunity
to be around and meet new people. They are also much more worried about what
they look like when they go outside as opposed to chilling in their pajamas all
day around me. Maybe these are just two small stabs at me indicating that I am
the boring roommate, which I am not going to admit but will not deny, but I
would like to think that it is because they are in need of social interactions
to feel wanted by a variety of individuals.
Since the beginning
of time, there was always two or more people. Eve was created because Adam was
lonely and then the first romance bloomed. (Holy Bible…) According to an
article on Science Daily, depression is highest for those living alone. (BioMed Central Limited) This also makes
quite a bit of sense. Unless their other personality is a stand-up comedian, not
very many people are laughing and truly enjoying time when they are alone. Think
about the last time that you were at home alone and were laughing at something
that you found funny. I would like to bet that it was because of something on
TV or social media. Now think about the last time that you were out with
friends and had a great time. I bet that the time out with friends was much
more enjoyable, and you could feel the laughs for days, than the little chuckle
that came out of a dancing cat on YouTube. Coping Skills
Learning how
to cope with life challenges in your own personal way will also help you
achieve a happier life. (Gregoire,
Carolyn) Some find happiness in shopping; some find happiness in hoarding; I find
happiness in kickboxing.
When I was little and
into my teenage years, I had some injustices happen that I needed to learn how
to cope with. My girl friend suggested that I get into running with her. Since
I was told to “get that refrigerator off my back” every time I would run as a
child, I decided to go a different route and became a decent little kick-boxer.
Whenever I was
emotionally hurt, I would go kickboxing. For quite a few months in a row, I was
in the best shape of my life physically, mentally, and professionally because I
was kickboxing fourteen times every six days. The bruises I would get on the
tops of my feet and on my knuckles were nothing in comparison to the bruises
that were lifted off my heart each time. I found my way to cope with the hand
that life gave to me and though it I found happiness and strength that I never
would have expected.
Wisdom and Understanding
“What was always was and always will be...since, therefore, it did not come into being, it is and always was and always will be, and has no beginning or end, but is infinite. For if it had come into being, it would have a beginning (for it would have begun to come into being at some time) and an end (for it would have ceased to come into being at some time). But since it neither began nor ceased, it is and was and always will be, and has neither beginning nor end. For it is impossible for anything to be forever, unless it exists entire.” - Melissus (Kahn, Charles H.)
So alas, it
must all come to an end. Everyone’s time will come and pass and it is another
reality to face when understanding the secrets to life; the secrets to
understanding death. The secrets of life are comparable, but the true fact is,
if you are happy with the person that you have become, the generations that you
have positively impacted, and the knowledge that you have gained, then no one
can judge your meaning of life. You have become that person whom you have
wanted to be and have fulfilled the destiny that you were set out to fulfill.
In the mind of the only person that matters, yourself, you are a success. As
spoken by the oh so wise Guns ‘n’ Roses, “live and let die.”
***All images were taken from personal social media account with a real person's, aka me, life experiences.
Works Cited
BioMed Central
Limited. "Home alone: Depression highest for those living alone."
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 March 2012.
Gregoire, Carolyn. "The 75-Year
Study That Found The Secrets To A Fulfilling Life." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and
New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books : New Revised
Standard Version. New York: Oxford UP,
1989. Print.
Kahn, Charles H. Pythagoras and the
Pythagoreans: A Brief History. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2001. Print.
