Life Is for Living.

• Author: KREYCHE, GERALD F.
• Position: Thoughts for everyday living - Brief Article

PHILOSOPHERS often are characterized as having their heads in the clouds or of looking for a black cat in a coal bin at midnight--which isn't there. Sometimes, the criticism is well-founded, but, more often than not, philosophers are persons of eminent common sense. The following guidelines for everyday living, drawn from various great thinkers, bear witness to this. Always remember that, "If one can float, it doesn't matter how deep the water is."

* Despite the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, take an occasion to be reflective--to consider where your life is headed or if it is just traveling in circles. Avoid being a self-made person who adores one's maker. Nonetheless, don't get lost in reflection. Bear in mind that there is nothing so injurious to digestion as constant reflection on digestion. The surest way to ruin a good marriage is constantly to ask, "Have I got a good marriage? Do I have a good marriage?" The good life comes about by living it, not by an excess of thinking about it or staring at one's navel. In short, act like a person of thought, but think like a person of action.

* In acting, be decisive. Not to do so is to get into the same trouble as in timidly cracking an egg. You'll mess up the egg and yourself. In some ways, as the American philosopher William James observed, the very resolve with which you act helps determine the rightness of the action itself.

Remember, procrastinating takes more energy than decision-making. Once a decision is made and then acted upon, avoid second thoughts and misgivings questioning your original judgment. You cannot afford the luxury of backward glances lest you stumble over what is in front of you.

* Be oriented to the present and future. The past can't be recaptured. It's done and gone. There is no other time than right now.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle

* Work at getting and keeping a long-range perspective on life. After all, life is like a jigsaw puzzle whose parts make sense only in relation to the whole picture. Look to the long haul and remember that the tortoise won the race against the hare. Listen to the advice of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who survived two concentration camps. He explains that, "If you know the why, you will always find the how." At times, one must not only search for meaning; one has to create it. The worth of a garbageman's job may be more important than that of a physician, as the former may prevent the spread of disease, while the latter treats just...