Friday, March 23, 2007

Philosophical Ramblings - Blissfulness

Blissful. My friend and I were talking about this subject the other day, just because I saw him declare in his MSN that he had received encouragement & bliss.

So what is blissfulness? How do u define being blissful?

Having a great and stable relationship that makes u bright and happy everyday.
Having a balanced life between family and career.
Having achieved good results for ur studies.
Or just simply being able to enjoy your favourite ice-cream for the day!

Being blissful depends very much on individual. It’s the way of thinking that defines bliss. How you think n how u feel that defines the feeling of bliss. My friend has found bliss because he has learnt to take things easy & let go of the unimportant aspects of life. Holding on to too much can be nerve-wrecking and distorts your life.

Have I found bliss? Nope. I’m not so magnanimous as my friend. I cannot say I’ve found bliss until I’m sure of it. Yes, my family is intact, we’re not living in poverty, I’ve a job with stable income (though crazy hours), I’m surrounded by great friends, I’ve traveled to several places. Some people would say that I should feel blissful because I’m not affected by any natural disasters or catastrophe. But I guess how one defines bliss is dependent on his/her situation and place. Someone in the 3rd world would say it’s a blessing if they get to eat some food, or an intact shelter for the night. For us, do we or should we stop there? That’s why I said earlier, blissful is vague. Blissful is just a term coined by some linguist and how you define it is up there in ur mind.

Yes, I know I’m lucky, but there’s still more to come before I can truly say that I’m blessed. Some people might start throwing eggs at me for blatantly declaring myself not blissful despite all the facts I’ve stated earlier. But I’m not saying that I’m NOT blissful. I’m just saying that I have not attained the feeling of bliss. There’s a subtle difference in the phrasing.

I’m not doing the best job in the world and probably will feel better if I change job.
I’m too much of a hermit (someone who lives in the mountains, meaning someone who has not seen much of the world), that’s why I always get commented that I’m not a Singaporean because I don’t know my own country that well! I should get out n explore my own country but I’m always too lazy to do so, and with no company it’s out of the question (I need to be motivated)
I’m working too hard (sometimes only, though I’m much luckier than a lot of my peers).

I think it’s still too early to confirm that you’ve attained blissfulness because there’s still a long, long way lying ahead of u! It would be too early to judge yourself at this point in time. Maybe 10 years down the road, I might be able to say I’m blissful, but you’ll never know what happens. Life is like a rollercoaster. Ups and downs. Life is also full of cross roads, each intersection bringing you to a different beginning, a different journey, and each choice you make will help mould the outcome. So why judge yourself today? Let nature takes its course! You will never know what you will meet until you make that choice, and even so, there are lots of external influences that will alter the route you choose. so instead of giving yourself a death sentence before u try it out, y not try it out n let it unravel! That’s always my take of life. Sometimes some choices seem obvious to have a predictable ending, but I’m not going to let that stop me from choosing it. Because u never really know. Maybe along the way, some miracles do happen (yes I like to believe in miracles) and ultimately the ending becomes a happy ending! You would have missed out a good one if you chose to reject the choice in the 1st place, and you’ll be left regretting for the rest of ur life. But of course, not all is rosy pink. Sometimes, the choice really turns out to lead to the unhappy ending, but I feel that every route u take is an experience and life-lesson. It might bring u happiness (though short-lived) but at least you’ve had happiness.

It’s better to have lived than to regret. Along the way, you learn to mould your personality and your view of life changes. But of course, it brings along some hurt & sadness, being part & parcel of life. If only life can really be smooth sailing (NEVER!!) then it wouldn’t be called life!

So philosophical. Ha. That was what we talked about. I think my friend is also very philosophical. Crappy lar! Talking about life like we’ve had loads of life experience. Just my 2 cents worth of thoughts. Though it makes a lot of sense, I welcome any comments of objections on my pin-holed view of life.

Sorry for the lengthy and wordy blog though. I thought I should write sth with more depth once in a while to show my blog-worthiness!!

This Sunday going to the Musical Fountain in Sentosa! It is going to close down on 26th March to make way for the IR (Integrated Resort), so hurry up! Head down to see the last few shows before you’ll forever lose the chance to watch any! That's like 2 days later!!

No comments: