WOS # 21 : The most important things in life

Pithy write-up from the link :

http://pages.prodigy.net/jmiller.cb/a398.html

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The most important things in life



What are the most important things in life? What do the
proverbs, the wise sayings of man through the ages, have to say
on this point? Let us search them. If we did so we would come
up with the following list:

- sufficient food to eat
- a good wife (or mate)
- good health
- a good conscience
- a good name
- wisdom, good sense, spiritual truth, understanding of
life

Now let us ask another question. What things are most commonly
pursued by man? What does the common, ordinary man pursue in
life? We can list them:

- temporary pleasure (gratification of appetites)
- material possessions, wealth
- social position, being "important"
- friendship, friends, acceptance by a group

When we ask the question "What are the important things in
life?" what we really mean is: "What things in life bring the
best happiness?" Both are just different ways of phrasing the
same question.

What a person pursues in life depends on what he values. His
values, basic tastes and preferences, determine his priorities
and the way he occupies himself and spends his time. The most
basic, underlying values of the wise man are Wisdom, Justice,
Goodness, and Virtue. These are his first loves. They are
what drive him, determining his tastes and preferences. The
ordinary man, however, has as his first love pleasure and the
other things we have listed. He occupies himself with the
pursuit of Thrill and Temporary Pleasure. He focuses on the
temporary pleasures available to him through catering to his
base appetites. He spends his time in front of a TV set
watching programs that excite his fantasies and provide him
temporary thrills and erotic pleasure; he finds his pleasure in
eating, sex, gambling, coarse humor, alcohol and drugs. The
wise man, on the other hand, is driven by a different set of
tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes. He is attracted to
that which gives spiritual understanding. He is interested in
the serious questions of life and society. He is interested in
the problems of his fellow man. He is interested in the
dilemmas of life --- spiritual, moral, economic, etc.. He is
interested in spiritual and moral truth. And he tends to
prefer activities that aid him in these interests -- that
provide insight, knowledge, perspective, etc.. He is likely to
be a lover of reflection and also of books.

What are the pitfalls of the pursuits of the common man? The
problem with these pursuits is that that most of them are both
illusory and, at least when taken to excess, self-destructive.
And that they tend to sidetrack his energies and attention from
the thing that is really important in life: the pursuit of
wisdom and spiritual truth.

The truth of the matter is that the path of temporary pleasure
is often filled with snares and traps. Very often it is a very
different one from the one dictated by wisdom and prudence and
one is forced to choose. And the way one chooses shows what
kind of person he is.