Blog 2: What personal principles did you adhere to before entering this course and where did they come from? Were they taught to you? Did you develop them on your own? How have our readings and discussions impacted those principles? Of the principles covered which are you drawn to the most and why?
Throughout life, I have always lived by certain principles that I feel most people strive to live by. Always treating others the way you would want to be treated is what I have been told since I was able to speak. I am never rude, I cannot be mean to a single soul or hurt a fly if I tried. It is almost exhausting that I try so hard to be overly friendly all of the time, but it is how I was raised. I was also always raised to stay positive. No matter how many bad things that happen to me in one day, I was always taught to say "It happened for a reason" or "It could always be worse, Danielle." Also, I have always been religious, so I was always taught by my parents to believe that God has a path for us, and if bad things happen to us it was meant to be, for He made this happen for a reason. I have been taught all of these principles from my family and how I was raised. However, I feel that I've developed my ability to think rationally on my own. I recently have been trying very hard to think rationally and never over react or yell or make assumptions. I try to never be stubborn or hold grudges. I constantly am trying to take my mind outside of the situation and think of situations as a third party, or put myself in other people's shoes. I developed more rational and worldly thinking after high school when I realized that gossip and hatred is so unnecessary, and being peaceful and rational helps to live a better and more civil life. I still live by all of these principles today. I feel that I live by them because it was how I was raised and it is what I was am used to. I think that they are decent principles to live by and be as worry-free and happy as I can be.
Every week when we talk about different philosophies, I relate these theories to my life. I often compare principles of my life to the principles of the philosophers we talk about. I try and imagine myself living differently and with morals such as Socrates or Aristotle's means to an end theory. I don't feel that I can easily change the way I think and live by someone else's philosophies, but our conversations about theories and philosophies do sometimes change the way I think. The one that stuck with me the most is Taosim. It really teaches you to not over-think and let nature run it's course. I would love to be able to think that way. I constantly am over-thinking and trying to plan. I ponder about my future and the path I am going and if it is what I should be doing every single day to the point where I want to escape my own mind and not be able to think. I feel that I will never be able to settle and always want to do better in life no matter how successful I am. I would love to be more content with life and feel that stableness and being average is okay. I was raised to think that average wasn't good enough, but to be honest, I am sick of living that way. The need to always strive for the best and work harder and keep improving is exhausting. I would love to change my way of thinking to be content with being average. I was most drawn to this theory and would consider trying to incorporate Taoism into my life one day, for stress free living seems like a great way to live.
I commented on Ashanti's blog at
