Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Just reading through the celebrity thread, and strange idea popped into my head concerning our views of a perfect life. Do we associate a perfect life as one I where everything done for you. To be constantly looked after to the best of health. Is a life like that considered better than our own? If you won the lottery tomorrow for instance and became filthy rich, would your life be better? Any thoughts on the topic would be much appreciated:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Good idea. My definition of living is learning and getting wiser, so material wealth (and love, sex etc) is not relevant here. If I could be someone with a perfect life, then I'd choose the wisest person on earth. But since he has already leared what there is to know, it'd be no fun at all. Or, maybe the perfect life is experiencing sensations, but if you do not get any wiser by doing so, there is no point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 the perfect life would be complete happiness, and not caring what happens next and enjoying every moment of your life, and being happy when others would be ready to suicide if they were in your position. in other words, always having a positive mind, and being happy. i'm happy 75% of the time, the 25% i'm depressed and thinking what's going to happen next, kinda like what happens to people who are afraid of heights when they are climbing a mountain and happen to look down and panic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by Rogue15 in other words, always having a positive mind, and being happy. But you can learn much from being depressed sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Author Share Posted November 26, 2002 Interesting...so far we have wisdom and having a positive perspective as key components of a perfect life. I myself, do not believe that wealth or material possession will lead you to have a perfect life. I think it is quite the opposite. We all know the saying, 'money can't buy happiness'. Well, I think it can, but there are limits. Even though with money you can buy things, you have to sacrifice a lot, like friendship, and love. I think this is the case with a lot of famous film stars and such. People feel that they can get whatever they want, including love. That is not love, it's lust. There's a difference. Anyway, I believe that the life I live is good, if far from perfect. Then again, would we want a perfect life? I think the most important part of life is relationships. Not just between a man and a women (or of the same sex), but relationships between all people. Whether they are friends, family, husbands and wives, I think the relationships you have with other people effects your happiness in a huge way. These are things you cannot buy with money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SettingShadow Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 There is such a thing as a perfect life? Having a troubleless life, everything beeing easy to do and nothing that bothers you, that seems pretty perfect to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Author Share Posted November 26, 2002 The again, if everything is done for you, and you have no bothers or worries, you have nothing to aspire to, no motive to ultimately accomplish something, no ambition. Is that a perfect life? edit - btw, I would just like to let everyone know that I am not having a go at them at all:)lol. I just like having debates about stuff like this;) Anyways, continue please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SettingShadow Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 On second thought, no, maybe not. When I think about it, is there really such a thing as a perfect life? Your life is as perfect as you make it for yourself IMO (heh my last post said kinda the opposite ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by Darklighter Interesting...so far we have wisdom and having a positive perspective as key components of a perfect life. I myself, do not believe that wealth or material possession will lead you to have a perfect life. I think it is quite the opposite. We all know the saying, 'money can't buy happiness'. Well, I think it can, but there are limits. Even though with money you can buy things, you have to sacrifice a lot, like friendship, and love. I think this is the case with a lot of famous film stars and such. People feel that they can get whatever they want, including love. That is not love, it's lust. There's a difference. Anyway, I believe that the life I live is good, if far from perfect. Then again, would we want a perfect life? I think the most important part of life is relationships. Not just between a man and a women (or of the same sex), but relationships between all people. Whether they are friends, family, husbands and wives, I think the relationships you have with other people effects your happiness in a huge way. These are things you cannot buy with money. [rant]Friendships, love and relationships are "lust" as well. Simply put, you desire to get love just as you desire to eat, sleep and drink. It's only natural - your brain rewards you when you do something that you desire/feels is necessary to survive. Even suicide, because you have an idea that you will get rewarded in the afterlife, or feel that nothing is a better alternative to your current pain. To recieve love is like eating, material needs - every person desires to breed and get a family, and will do everything to achieve that. You want to be loved and love because you deep down are egoistic - it's a stimulant. For some, the stimulant is belief in a god, for other's, it's money etc. For me, it's learning and wisdom. But deep down, you act based on you, because there is only you. Darkie, why do think your life isn't perfect? If you swapped lives with a person who you thought whose life was more perfect, what would the reason for that be? He has more friends/money/love etc? If your answer is yes, then you are simply working your way to earn more anaesthetics(dopamin/serotonin etc), you're both at the same level since there's no absolute maximum of that.[/rant] By the way, you may decide to ask me what my definition of "wisdom" is: It is my definition, and mine alone - just as you have yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Author Share Posted November 26, 2002 What I mean to say is, about well known figureheads like celebrities, people idolise them because they think there life is perfect, as one person said in the other thread. That's what got me thinking. I do not believe their lives are perfect at all; the type of danger, isolation or whatever they may be subjected to makes their lives far from perfect, despite the fact that they are pampered all their lives. I believe, plain and simply, that this type of life is not perfect, but seems so, because as human beings we believe that perfection is based on quantity, and not quality of living. That is what I am getting at. As for the relationship aspect; I believe being socially healthy is one of the most important aspects of living, as well as physical and mental fitness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 The question is: Is there a person who has a perfect life? I think not, and that is why it is folly to strive for perfection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomHelix Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 i like some movie stars, and i tihnk their work is cool, but i dont idolize. i would hate to be famous, with all the goddamn paparazzi floating around all the time, and every other day, some news about some fake scandal in all the gossip papers......gets very irritating after a while. my idea of a perfect life is being able to do things i want, whenever. i want it to be so that popularity isnt caused by looks or sports, its caused by personality. in my perfect world, people ARENT shallow. they dont care how you look. they just care about WHO you are...... its kinda like the swamp (except for the first part). here we cannot rely on looks, only personality. its a very good setting..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Author Share Posted November 26, 2002 I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect life. Then again, that isn't the point. It's not what we know or don't know, but what we think we know. People have different opinions on what is a perfect life. One person's point of view may be completely different from another's. I want to get your opinions on what a perfect life is: not from what other people think, but from what you consider as an individual. Everything is based on opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 26, 2002 Author Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by PhantomHelix its kinda like the swamp (except for the first part). here we cannot rely on looks, only personality. its a very good setting..... I totally agree with you on that point Phantom. I think it's strange, but also great at the same time; that you make friends with people like this who you wouldn't necessarily get on with in real life. I'm reading Frankenstein in English Literature class at the moment, and it has taught me a valuable lesson about how are society bases people by looks. That is why celebrities like film and TV stars get more attention than the rest of us. It's not really on topic, but just thought I'd mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by Darklighter I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect life. Then again, that isn't the point. It's not what we know or don't know, but what we think we know. People have different opinions on what is a perfect life. One person's point of view may be completely different from another's. I want to get your opinions on what a perfect life is: not from what other people think, but from what you consider as an individual. Everything is based on opinions. Eh? My opinion is that there's no such thing as a perfect life, and therefore I cannot describe it. Then again, I take the word "perfection" very seriously. Of course, you can always state that your life is perfect, and you'll be right because it's only your definition. BTW Darkie, you seem to agree too with that there's no perfect life. PS: My avatar is actually a photo of myself, so you can all go ahead and judge me now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomHelix Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by Darklighter Interesting...so far we have wisdom and having a positive perspective as key components of a perfect life. I myself, do not believe that wealth or material possession will lead you to have a perfect life. I think it is quite the opposite. We all know the saying, 'money can't buy happiness'. Well, I think it can, but there are limits. Even though with money you can buy things, you have to sacrifice a lot, like friendship, and love. I think this is the case with a lot of famous film stars and such. People feel that they can get whatever they want, including love. That is not love, it's lust. There's a difference. Anyway, I believe that the life I live is good, if far from perfect. Then again, would we want a perfect life? I think the most important part of life is relationships. Not just between a man and a women (or of the same sex), but relationships between all people. Whether they are friends, family, husbands and wives, I think the relationships you have with other people effects your happiness in a huge way. These are things you cannot buy with money. yeah. this is the first thread without much spam in a while. i agree, money will not guarantee a good life. it will guarantee a wealthy life and a prepaid-for life, but not happiness. and yes, money can buy happiness, but to a certain extent. you can be happy you have a product, but you cant be happy just with money. I am glad this world is not perfect. If it was, everything would be dull and grey. No video games would have been invented, because there would be no need for bloddy games. no one could make jokes about a movie or someone else, even if it is cruel. no one would be able to invent anything, because it would be invented by EVERYONE at the same time, if the world was perfect. yes, it is bad sometimes that it is not perfect, but thats what makes us want to go on, and achieve more. it makes us want to wake up, and say "Hey, im diverse. Im gonna go be me". and thats the way it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arreat Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Originally posted by Darklighter Just reading through the celebrity thread, and strange idea popped into my head concerning our views of a perfect life. Do we associate a perfect life as one I where everything done for you. To be constantly looked after to the best of health. Is a life like that considered better than our own? If you won the lottery tomorrow for instance and became filthy rich, would your life be better? Any thoughts on the topic would be much appreciated:) to me it wud then if i win a lottery i'd give half away to my family charity and such then the rest for my own recreational use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 money cannot buy u happiness true but it can give u the freedom to seek it personally id keep enough money to allow me to do what i want .... and give the rest away if i won the lottery there also is no such thing as a perfect life the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 I think the notion of 'perfection' is more important than a realisation of perfection. If you strive for perfection, then you have a force that drives you to aspire to better things...even if it's a misguided notion, because perfection in all aspects of your life can never be attained. There has to be a balance, and while you may aspire to some things, other things will be neglected. Would I like to win the lottery? Yes. Do I think it would make me happier? No. It would simply make certain aspects of my life easier...but there are other aspects that require hard work, rather than hard cash. So in my view, perfection is an unattainable goal...yet we should still seek it because the journey will help us to grow and mature. It's like my artwork. I'm never satisfied with it...I am always striving to make it perfect, yet deep down I know that it can never be perfect, because it relies on the perceptions of those who view it, and those views vary widely. A sketch that you may feel is looking great one day...will betray you the next when you realise it is full of imperfections, little things that can be changed to make the piece look better. And the reason why you can look back on a piece of work and see it's imperfections is because you have grown in knowledge, skill, wisdom, and these things allow you to perceive what has gone before in a different light. Anyway, I know that I could never have a perfect life...because I would always be striving to do something else. I'd want to see all that this Earth has to offer. And then I'd want to move beyond the boundaries of this planet, and understand the Solar system...and beyond it the galaxy...and beyond that the universe. And to achieve such understanding would require deification and immortalisation and a shifting beyond the boundaries of the flesh - a transmutation from life to a higher (or other) plane of existence. On the other hand...I guess the best 'way' of living is to try and achieve happiness while your life lasts. If you can look back on your life with few regrets, and believe that you made a difference, then I guess that's as close to perfection as I'd want to be. A sense that my life had purpose, that it mattered, and that others benefited from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Talliusc Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 a perfect life is never looking at somebody elses in envy. in always thinking that you have it best. never wishing to change anything that happens to you. to value each and every experience you've undertaken and never wanting anything more or less then yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehomicidalegg Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 Perfection is something one strives for, but never achievable. It drives one to achieve better things, setting better goals, after all, you must aim high to hit the target. There is also no universal perfection as it is a concept interpreted differently by different people with different aspirations and hopes. Thus, perfection is an illusion created within a human's mind, much like his/her morality and ideals. By supposing a 'perfect' life is full of happiness, would, imo, not be life at all. Life should have its's ups and downs, it makes it interesting and consuming. To never experience the lows, one would never enjoy the highs, and it would be a dull, flat ride - without any meaning or character. Edit: Stormhammer already said what i wanted to say, bah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacco Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 I have a big life question, k? What would you rather be: Unhappy and rich or happy and poor. Hmm, think about that. I would choose happy and poor because the things that make you happy is what you have, family, shelter, food. Be grateful for that since it is almost Turkey Day in America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C'jais Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 Well said, both Homocidal Egg and Stormie. My goal: To strive for the complete control and understanding of my feelings and thoughts, so that I can better understand myself, and ultimately others as well. Once you know what you're doing and why you're doing it, you can guide others and yourself better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 ya i agree w/what u just said, cjais. :S if u know WHAT you're doing, you have alot more fun. well, at least i did at pizza hut last night. (some moron called in asking if pizza hut was open thanksgiving and if we served 'turkey pizza' lmao) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted November 27, 2002 Author Share Posted November 27, 2002 I am a perfectionist. Always have been, I have an unhealthy obssession with making things I make, write, or do, perfect. Like you say Storm, it is ironic that we aspire to acheive perfection, but will never get there. One of my best friends at school describes me as the perfect person, always getting things right, and who is never wrong. However, I obviously completely disagree, but she always tells me I am perfect. The thing is, she makes that assumption based on the knoweldge she has of me. If she learned more about me, I can tell you, I would be seen as far from perfect lol. What I'm trying to say is that eveyone has their own definition of the word perfection. Some people believe they have perfect lives, but I guess we cannot argue, because it is there opinion. Who knows, maybe someone, somewhere out there has a perfect life. I am not convinced there is such a person, but just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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