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You are not running out of time

rahulbijlani.com

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Re: You are not running out of time

#91

Post by [deleted] »

paganel wrote: post #89
grellas wrote: post #49

In a sense, each of us lives our life in Titanic style, setting forth in the confident assumption that we are unsinkable and placing an unduly high value on our capacity to meet any challenge, panicking (or at least feeling a sense of stoic distress) at the mid-point as it first truly hits us that we are about to slam into the iceberg of inevitable aging and decline, sweating it out over a seemingly interminable peri…

> panicking (or at least feeling a sense of stoic distress) at the mid-point as it first truly hits us that we are about to slam into the iceberg of inevitable aging and decline, Maybe a little OT, maybe not: > Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita > mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, > ché la diritta via era smarrita. > Midway upon the journey of our life > I found myself within a forest dark, > For the straightforward…

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Re: You are not running out of time

#92

Post by Mz »

Yhippa wrote: post #55
grellas wrote: post #49

In a sense, each of us lives our life in Titanic style, setting forth in the confident assumption that we are unsinkable and placing an unduly high value on our capacity to meet any challenge, panicking (or at least feeling a sense of stoic distress) at the mid-point as it first truly hits us that we are about to slam into the iceberg of inevitable aging and decline, sweating it out over a seemingly interminable peri…

I try to humble myself often that I'm not invincible and that I shouldn't take tomorrow for granted but eventually I completely forget about it and I'm back to mundane life. I wish there was an easy way to be reminded without being rudely awakened to the fact that I'm constantly distracting myself from what's important in life.

I spent some time at death's door and I have 2e kids in my life and other significant challenges. Some thoughts:

1) Deal with your problems. You probably have some significant problems. But most of us don't want to really face them. For example, you probably have some medical condition that runs in the family that would likely respond well to preventive measures in terms of eating better and exercising. Most people do. If you are American, diabetes, obesity and so on are rampant. Eating right and exercising regularly are personal challenges, especially when surrounded by the way most Americans live. I do this every day and it's really rather exhilarating. I and my oldest son take a 7 mile walk at least once a week as part of our efforts to take care of our health issues. It's a lot more satisfying than spending every other weekend in the ER like I did some years back.

2) Do volunteer work with some charity that deals with some very big problem that hits a nerve with you personally. I have done volunteer work at a homeless shelter and I run a health site (that doesn't really make money, so it's still basically "charity") and spend time on email lists for folks with the kind of diagnosis I have. When I most feel like wallowing in self pity, my awareness that my problems are so much more manageable than that of most folks with the type of problems I have helps keep me grounded. If you are used to living in a more insulated fashion, I think the effect would be to keep you alive and help you avoid sticking your head in the sand pretending you don't really have problems.

Peace.

Re: You are not running out of time

#93

Post by orochimaru »

Essays like this are good, and this one was good too, but I wonder how such essays boil down to the lower strata of the society, for example - janitors. Nobody wants to be a janitor, but the world needs janitors to function. Same for other thankless jobs. How does a janitor adapt this essay to his/her life ?

Otherwise, reading this essay provided me with a temporary sense of calm, like so many other inspiring essays do - i only hope I'm able to inculcate some of the ideas mentioned in this post in my own life :)

Re: You are not running out of time

#94

Post by paganel »

mapleoin wrote: post #90
paganel wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> panicking (or at least feeling a sense of stoic distress) at the mid-point as it first truly hits us that we are about to slam into the iceberg of inevitable aging and decline, Maybe a little OT, maybe not: > Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita > mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, > ché la diritta via era smarrita. > Midway upon the journey of our life > I found myself within a forest dark, > For the straightforward…

Dante wrote The Divine Comedy . Milton wrote Paradise Lost .

Sorry, I'm stupid, of course :) I blame it on the lack of morning coffee.

Re: You are not running out of time

#95

Post by jmitcheson »

While we're all sharing..

The article focuses on macro level time; I often stress about micro level time. I read so many stories about startups getting funded, aquired, launching products and so on. I constantly feel like I just need to code a little longer, work a little harder on my startup; like everyone is on my heels, and I'll be left behind if I don't launch sooner, iterate sooner, expand sooner, etc.

It's irrational, but I constantly have these thoughts. I don't mean to go all self help but I get the feeling other people must feel like this. Am I alone or does this ring bells? :)

Re: You are not running out of time

#96

Post by steveh »

mapleoin wrote: post #90
paganel wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> panicking (or at least feeling a sense of stoic distress) at the mid-point as it first truly hits us that we are about to slam into the iceberg of inevitable aging and decline, Maybe a little OT, maybe not: > Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita > mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, > ché la diritta via era smarrita. > Midway upon the journey of our life > I found myself within a forest dark, > For the straightforward…

Dante wrote The Divine Comedy . Milton wrote Paradise Lost .

These are the opening lines of Inferno (first book of The Divine Comedy)

Re: You are not running out of time

#97

Post by grisha »

“What I realized was that playing the game the right way isn’t good enough – it needs to be played for the right reason: it has to be played to build something, to see something grow. Gordon wasn’t building anything at all, not even a family, and his emptiness showed dramatically.”

Gordon suffered because of split personality: one was enjoying the game he played, another was generated by social pressing – goals like family, relationships and so on. When you see something grow, you are measuring that. When you measure something, you compare that with similar things. When you compare, you trace your progress balance. When you trace, you predict wanted future. And whole this way leads to “moving goals”.

Author began from right point – it’s all about feeling and enjoying moment. That’s all.

Re: You are not running out of time

#98

Post by bad_user »

pjscott wrote: post #76
CamperBob wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it this way, I'd like to see human mortality conquered, but I don't want to be alive when it happens. If you think class warfare is a problem now, wait until only the so-called "rich" get to live forever. The others will tear the world apart.

Why would only rich people get to live longer? Advanced technology has tended to get cheaper over time, often dramatically. I'm not saying that things wouldn't be scary and tumultuous for a while, but the alternative is to slowly sicken and decay into oblivion before you've had even a single century of life. This should not be a tough decision!

     Advanced technology has tended to get cheaper over 
     time, often dramatically
That's because as far as technology in the software industry goes, the bottleneck has been our own knowledge.

That's why space travel to inhabitable planets is nothing more than an utopia right now, because for achieving the speed of light we need efficient fuel that can power a space-ship for several years. As far as this problem goes, our knowledge of the universe is not the only bottleneck -- building such a ship will also be freaking expensive in terms of material resources consumed.

You really shouldn't confuse technological advancements in silicon chips manufacturing with anything else. Moore's law is severely limited to a niche ;-)

      the alternative is to slowly sicken and decay into 
      oblivion before you've had even a single century of 
      life. This should not be a tough decision!
Advocates of immortality are completely oblivious to the social challenges this will bring.

First of all -- nobody will be able to have children anymore, since that will over-populate the planet. It's already happening since humans don't have natural enemies and we live in times of peace.

Yet as a species we feel the need to have children. Personally I would give my life just so my 1 year-old boy could live a happy life. And while it saddens me that one day he too will be dead, I don't want to rob him of one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling purposes in life -- that of raising children of his own.

Of course, this is a problem of humanity in general -- we tend to be selfish mother-fuckers.

Re: You are not running out of time

#100

Post by matwood »

sliverstorm wrote: post #74
matwood wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having done all of those things it just isn't enough and always leaves you wanting more. It's similar to having a customer write you a check (not through some job, but directly to you or your business) for the first time. You want it again and again. 1) Skydived. It was awesome! 2) 4-5 years ago I decided I wanted to be really strong. I can deadlift over 500lbs now. 3) This is a great thing to do, especially by yours…

Note that I'm not listing these things as way to escape mundane-ness, but as ways you can incorporate into your life with some regularity to remind yourself tomorrow is a gift. P.S. There's more to "in shape" than strong. I was thinking more of the running sort of "in shape" (and the fast kind, not the jog-walk kind). Ramping up the strength of your heart and your running muscles has a very different feeling than bul…

There's more to "in shape" than strong.

You're right. Strength is just what got me started. I play a lot of pick up basketball, surf, snowboard, hike, etc... When it comes to just regular running, 5k is about my limit since it bores me so much :)

The life as a gift thing I totally agree. I've wasted a lot of time as a youngster, and only in my 30s have I realized it. My wife is always telling me I'm too hard on myself (and really who isn't?), but there is so much more I want to accomplish. I really do feel like time is running out, and the squeeze only gets worse when trying to plan for a family.

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