Philosophy of life written for school (again)

Courage

“Your determination, selflessness and courage have brought the freedom struggle towards its fulfillment.” – Gerry Adams

As stated in my opinion about love, I deemed love one of the virtues that label who I am as a person. With that said, I can confidently say that courage is also a major virtue in my “philosophy of life.” Courage, like love, can come in many different forms; it could be the courage needed to fight in wars or the courage necessary to stand up to my friends. It could even be the little voice in the back of one’s head that tells them to apologize to someone whose feelings have been wounded. Courage may not seem like a trait that everybody has, but I believe that if a person searches deep within themselves they will find courage in the form of a burning desire to do what they know is righteous.

Without courage, losing a battle would be inevitable. Harry Potter could not have destroyed the source evil without courage, our soldiers would not be fighting in brutal wars without courage, I would not be able to stand up for what is right, against my friends, without courage.

To me, courage can mean that a person acts with bravery on behalf of people who need it. It can mean that a person does what is right even if the outcome looks bleak. It can mean that, despite pessimism of others, a person acts in a way that he or she knows will benefit those people in the future. Courage can be accounted-for through many other countless manners, even if that person is not fully aware of their valiance. Merely, the only way to be courageous is to disregard your fears, and deliberately succumb to that deep, burning desire to battle on; for without fear, courage would be but a legend in the tome of virtues.

Death

“Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.” – Henry Van Dyke

Why do most humans so greatly fear death even when it is a phase of life as normal as birth? This is because those people view life as their only opportunity to be a part of the world. The ancient Egyptians spent their lives preparing for the afterlife, whereas we spend our lives dreading it, as if there is a way it can be stopped. Death can be delayed, of course, but it can never be withdrawn from our lives. I do not believe that we should live in fear of death, nor should we live life anticipating it.

Death has many tricky ways of luring people into his open arms. Fearing death can turn someone into a pitiful, miserable, depressed person. One might desperately try to find ways to make them self immortal, and when they realize this is impossible they become depressed. Then, in extreme cases, one might believe that if they cannot be superior, then no one can and they might begin to commit crimes against others. Misery and depression come next and one may eventually ask for death; either because they want to get what they now know is inevitable over with, or because they cannot bear to see what will become of themselves. This is one of Death’s tricks that people can easily give in to. However, if that person sustains a headstrong mentality, death’s trickery can only be heard as a faint whisper in the mind.

To the wise and well organized mind, death is but another great adventure; therefore, people should embrace death when the time comes, as if it were a long lost friend.

Environment and Nature

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." - John Muir

The environment is something that everybody on this Earth should be concerned about. It is the foundation of all life on our planet, and it provides many of the resources we need to live our modern day lives. Nature provides us with water, food products, and oil for our cars. Everything made by humans once was a part of nature.

Now we are faced with a dilemma; a disastrous chain reaction is wreaking havoc across the globe. What is the cause? The answer is simple; us. Put simply, there are too many people driving too many cars, wasting too many resources. This chain reaction is rapidly becoming worse. For instance, the increasing population demands that more houses need to be built, so trees are cut down for lumber. When those trees are felled many animals lose their homes and die with lack of shelter which causes other carnivorous animals to die with lack of their food source. This is but a taste of the catastrophe spreading throughout the world.

I believe that humans need to wake up, realize the turmoil they caused and act before it is too late. We need to conserve water and harness the power of the sun and the wind to power our homes. We need to create eco-friendly vehicles that reduce global warming, that keeps the ice caps from melting which will save the polar bears. We need to establish more organizations to go out and spread the word that Earth needs our help to recover from this calamity. Most people do not realize that with the destruction of the environment comes the destruction of our species. Many people think that because we are so smart we are superior above all other living things on Earth. But maybe we are not so smart after all.

We, humans, need to realize that our actions have an immense impact on everything around us. The world does not just belong to us, but all living things that share our Earth. If we do not act responsibly, the fate of our world would be left to chance.

Friendship

“Friendship is unnecessary, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”- C. S. Lewis

Friendship is among the long list of things that everyone should acquire. Friends should be cherished for there are many who lack them. Without friends a person can become lonely and often frustrated because they have no one to share their feelings with. Life without friends would be dull. There would be no one to laugh with, no one to share secrets with, and no one to spend time with and simply talk.

Friendship does give value to survival; it gives me a great satisfaction knowing that someone cares about me and wants to spend time with me. To be able to rely on someone to be there for me ricochets to the other friend and therefore creates an unbreakable bond of trust. On another note, I know I can count on my friends for a little comic relief when my life seems tense. This is what keeps my hopes up even in the most desolate state of affairs.

The power of friendship can sometimes be so great that one often forgets there is a downside to the situation at hand. It can bring hope and self-confidence to a weary mind. It can even be the main source of happiness in someone’s life if all other aspects of it look bleak. Friendship is one of those things that helps keep a person alive.

Love

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love.” - (Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter) - J.K. Rowling

In J.K. Rowling’s book series, Harry Potter, Voldemort is often compared by similarity to Adolf Hitler. Voldemort is a fictional character perceived by the author to have never known love, its complexities, and how it can nurture and define one’s soul. I believe that the way Adolf Hitler spent his infamous life was due to identical reasons. I deem love one of the virtues that label who I am and who I will grow to become as a person. Having this asset, not only having it, but also understanding what it means can define a person in many respects.

In some cases, in its deepest form, love for someone or something can cause a person to perform extraordinary acts. One might offer a great deal of money to help someone during a time of need or even die to save someone they love. Love such as that is incomprehensible with those who have minds alike the character Voldemort or the human being Hitler. The lack of love can turn us into villains; villains who despise those who do have love. And those who do have love, pity those villains who do not, for they will never know what love is.

Love, to me, is classified under several categories. I do not love a book the same way I love an animal. I do not love an animal the same way I love a person, or an entire race of people. I think that what a person gives should expect the same in return. If someone puts their trust in me, I will put my trust in them. If someone confides in me, I will confide in them. If someone gives me a hug, I will hug them back. Once things such as these are established in one’s life they will forever be a person that lives with hope in their hearts. If this cycle of compassion and love in its very truest colors, should spread throughout the world, it would be a far greater place.

My Philosophical Thinking

Most of the depth in my thought goes way beyond description with words. However, what I have written about gives the reader a very good understanding of the five topics I chose to discuss. Yes, five, and only five of the never-ending, continuously-growing, intricate subject matter of which my mind possesses.

All of my carefully chosen topics relate to each other in some way. For instance, friendship is the foundation of love. So forth, those two virtues build courage; and having courage leads to the acceptance of death. I can tell a great deal about someone based on their attitude towards death. Courage also leads to standing up for what I believe is right; and one of the things I believe in is saving the environment. In basic terms, if one these things were to be inhibited, the whole point of this thesis would be diminished.

My favorite virtue is courage because cowardice is quite the contrary. If someone is a coward it tells me that person does not truly believe in what they feel is just. I firmly state that courage should be the main asset in one’s life.

Love and friendship are closely related because without one, the other would be futile. What is friendship if I do not love my friends? What is love if I do not have any friends to love? Love and friendship defines part of the softer side of me, and I think it takes a lot of courage to admit it!

A person’s attitude towards death determines much of their level of happiness throughout life and also controls their attitude towards the world and other people. Why should I spend my life living in fear of what is unavoidable? Death is going to occur whether I want it to or not.

I believe that protecting the environment is very important if humans wish to be around by the year 2500. The natural resources we need are also a key element to the continuity of all other living things. Yet we continue to steal what is not ours to steal. We must learn to share this Earth for it is the only one we have.

Courage, love, the attitude towards death, friendship, and caring for the environment are all vitally important to me. It generally defines who I am and who I want to become; and it defines how I would like people to reflect upon the infinite cycle of connections within my philosophy of life.