Greetings Readers!
Quick Note: I’ll be traveling over the next couple of weeks. Our Reading & the Good Life meetups (Fridays at Noon EST) will be facilitated by Simon Drew from The Walled Garden!
Here is your Saturday Review with a short meditation & contemplation.
Health and Happiness
This week’s Saturday meditation comes from The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788—1860).
Everything confirms the fact that the subjective element in life is incomparably more important for our happiness and pleasure than the objective, from such sayings as Hunger is the best sauce, and Youth and Age cannot live together, ... Health outweighs all other blessings so much that one may really say that a healthy beggar is happier than an ailing king. A quiet and cheerful temperament, happy in the enjoyment of a perfectly sound physique, an intellect clear, lively, penetrating and seeing things as they are, a moderate and gentle will, and therefore a good conscience—these are privileges which no rank or wealth can make up for or replace.
After reading this, I’m reminded of the countless times I’ve taken my health (and many other things) for granted. Shouldn’t our health be enough to be happy? Imagine yourself with an intense migraine or a toothache; generally, we would all give anything for it to subside. Yet when it does, our happiness or gratitude, you might say, is often fleeting.
Contemplation Questions (Pick one or create your own!):
What is the good life?
How will you remember to not take life for granted?
This Week’s Meditations…
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Thank you for reading this week; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or make suggestions!