How to live

A priest will tell you the best way to live is in the service of god.

A government representative will say there is no greater honor than the service of your nation.

A capitalist will explain that the pursuit of wealth is the best way to foster societal prosperity.

A fashionista will live in the pursuit of followers, a fisherman in the pursuit of fish, a writer in the pursuit of storytelling, and an athlete in the pursuit of physical boundaries.

Who’s to say you can’t be a fisherman by day and author by night, or a Christian fashionista that’s training for the Tokyo Olympics?

According to Robert Heinlein …

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

With so much information to process as we go about our daily lives, our brains try to simplify. Think of what it’s like to get to know someone you’ve never met before. You might find yourself asking, “What do you do?”, a textbook example of trying to put someone in a box.

Do these boxes or labels even exist, outside our imagination? What’s left when we remove them?

Humans want to align themselves with future-focused aspirations or past accomplishments. “I’m an athlete”, said the person you just met. That could mean one of two things. Let’s look at the two ends of the spectrum.

Future-oriented: He’s dedicated his life to a discipline and strives to become a world-class someday. He’s made this commitment so he’s ready to be seen this way by others. (Until recently, he was working on Wall Street.)

Past-oriented: He set 12 world records back in his prime. This is how he generated his wealth and publicity. (Present day, he’s more of a fisherman than an athlete.)

In reality of course, most people’s self perception falls in between these extremes. A mix of “what have I accomplished” and “what will I accomplish”.

But the past and future don’t exist anywhere aside from in our imaginations. What are we left with, in reality?

Just the preset moment, with humans experiencing it.