Context behind Upcoming Posts

As you, the reader, may realize by now, this post is the first of a series of posts, each containing a short essay (I suppose that's the best description, though some posts are less clearly planned, organized, and executed than others).

Late last November 2020, I began to write about my thoughts on morality and lifestyle. I made a commitment to write daily for at least 10 minutes. I made the commitment after coming to the following realizations: 1) that I think a lot about and evaluate decisions, emotions, attitudes, and habits taken or adopted by others 2) that it would be useful to solidify and even correct my conceptions.

All sections to come are united by their attempt to make a claim that is either non-obvious or, in my estimation, not spoken about enough. For example, in "The Jungle Life," I talk about a topic that is often ignored for its truth--that of the unforgiving brutality of nature, and civilization's comparative predictability, an important realization that I feel to be left behind by those (such as by environmentalists) whose primary conception of the relation of civilization to nature is that of reckless damage and degradation rather than of comparative predictability and stability. Resentment towards human civilization due to our effect on the environment seems unjustified and misplaced (not to take away from the scientific importance of avoiding pollution, to be fair).

In "Do we have too many or too few choices?" I discuss the nature of the balance between freedom and constraint. Being at liberty to take a walk outside or visit a park is a freedom that I suppose many enjoy. The constraint of living under the rules of one's parents is, on the other hand, one that detracts from one's immediate capacity of enjoyment (sometimes irresponsible enjoyment), but is intended to make one more responsible, and ready to take on the more pressing responsibilities of real life.

Some are clearly written, and others are less polished. I've omitted those which I feel to be more emotionally charged or ideologically driven than universally useful. Nonetheless, I've made the effort to speak honestly, and to convey my true beliefs.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge one person whose thoughts have contributed immensely both to the formation of my own ideas, as well as to open my eyes up to my past misconceptions--Dr. Jordan Peterson. Reading Dr. Peterson's 12 Rules for Life and l. In "Ignoring the Imperfect," his discussion of the importance of addressing one's problems, even trivial problems, (and the danger of failing to do so) sparked my memory of the Kumon incident that I discuss, as well as my exploration of its potential causes.

With that said, I'm now pasting the preface to the upcoming that I wrote when beginning this journey of writing last November.

This is a work on morality. My unique perspectives in life so far have provoked me to ask some questions of myself--to understand and personalize a code of ethics for myself. What should be done? What shouldn’t be done?

I’ll share an interesting story from my life--one such incident that got me thinking about the sort of topics that are discussed in this book. I have a friend, who considers himself to be average, or at least below top-ranking when it comes to academics or skills. When speaking to him, I was surprised to hear him say that he has accepted that he is not the best, and merely hopes to stay afloat.

Now, this surprised me a bit, since I have always maintained an ambitious attitude toward my long-term goals. I have admired the well-accomplished classmates I had the fortune of studying with, whose attitude I found as or more respectable than their accomplishments. It even seemed that the driver of the success they had acquired until that point was closely tied to their outlook on their life. Humble. Believers in hard work. They were all too familiar with their own faults, but also huge believers in their potential. They were optimistic about their futures to such an extent that they were ready to forgive themselves and move past, or attempt to remedy their faults.

What remained within me a gut feeling at the time, I have attempted to, through continuous reflection and understanding of others’ ideas, distill into my code of ethics. I sought to make explicit a reason why the mere notion of fighting to stay afloat rather than proactively and productively surpass one’s baseline bothered me.

Of course, to make this book useful to anyone else but myself, understanding others’ ideas, correcting my own misconceptions, and rooting the ideas I propose in well-established moral theory was a must. Through reading classic novels that contain moral or philosophical messages, such as East of Eden and philosophical and moral (but practical) musings by thinkers I admire, such as Dr. Peterson, I was able to attain a foothold and situate my thoughts in a manner that they are both uniquely personal, so that I can share what I have learned through my experiences, rather than parroting ideas I hear from others that appeal to me.

My goal in writing this book is to recount my perspectives throughout my life. My personality and perspectives have evolved over my life. Furthermore, I think there is something inherently interesting about pondering about life because of the high degree of freedom and control I have over it (I assume the same carries over for my friends and most people that I know, but have yet to confirm that this is the same.) so there is something that excites me about writing those thoughts down on paper. This preface is the very first thing I’m writing, so I’ll make a few promises to myself.

1. I’ll write a bad draft. A really bad draft. But, there will be something nonetheless glorious about this first draft.

2. I won’t go back to revise anything before the current paragraph, until I feel I’m done with the first draft.

3. I’ll write for at least 10 minutes a day. I feel that writing is fun, particularly when it is semi-organized (when I have a topic, but not everything planned out to the point where it impedes my thoughts).

4. I’ll remember that I’m learning. I’m reflecting upon my own life. I’m remembering and exploring who I am, but shall be careful in making objective conclusions about what I write. I no longer held opinions that I held very strongly in the past at one point.