Priorities
What are your priorities? I think this is an important question for anyone who wishes to live an intentional and decent life. It is a question that should posed regularly. It is a question which can be answered in two ways.
There are actual priorities and ideal priorities for most of us. My actual priorities are the daily personal needs that keep me alive and well, physically and psychologically. They guide my diet, my exercise and social behaviors. They also guide my fiscal behaviors. My ideal priorities are those geared to lovingly and joyfully fulfilling my responsibilities and commitments to everyone in my life.
I maintain an awareness multiple priorities, actual and ideal, in my consciousness as part of my daily practice. By maintaining this awareness, I am more likely to satisfy those priorities. All my priorities are associated with other people's needs or my relationships with other people. For me, this is essential for my psychological health. This is not said from a social-life perspective. I mean that I see my life as actively intertwined with the lives of others even when I am making decisions about my own life's direction and actions. This is responsible social consciousness, as I see it.
I find that too many priorities can mire down my sense of personal well being. Life becomes a hamster wheel of endless tasks to be crossed off an ever growing list. Lots of accomplishments with little personal peace and joy. In walking my path, I sometimes must choose between climbing a mountain in my way or taking the pass around it. Adjusting my actual daily priorities with kindness to myself sometimes supersedes pushing toward my ideal priorities. I know that all my priorities, actual and ideal, will ultimately be better served if I am less stressed.
Many people live in crisis mode. They bounce from one situation to another, as though they have no control over their lives. They are adrift on the sea of circumstance. This is particularly true of those who find early success in exploiting their circumstances of wealth, talent and/or beauty for their own personal gain without regard for a wider view of life and personal responsibility. Their priority becomes getting more. This lifestyle can work for some. Many celebrities have succeeded in their careers in this way with disastrous results in their personal lives.
Reviewing my priorities is an integral part of my daily practice as a humanist who wishes to promote peace and joy in myself and my environment. Seeing my own priorities, actual and ideal, in the context of other human beings and of our shared environment is essential to being an ethical and contributing member of human society.
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| Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs |
I maintain an awareness multiple priorities, actual and ideal, in my consciousness as part of my daily practice. By maintaining this awareness, I am more likely to satisfy those priorities. All my priorities are associated with other people's needs or my relationships with other people. For me, this is essential for my psychological health. This is not said from a social-life perspective. I mean that I see my life as actively intertwined with the lives of others even when I am making decisions about my own life's direction and actions. This is responsible social consciousness, as I see it.
I find that too many priorities can mire down my sense of personal well being. Life becomes a hamster wheel of endless tasks to be crossed off an ever growing list. Lots of accomplishments with little personal peace and joy. In walking my path, I sometimes must choose between climbing a mountain in my way or taking the pass around it. Adjusting my actual daily priorities with kindness to myself sometimes supersedes pushing toward my ideal priorities. I know that all my priorities, actual and ideal, will ultimately be better served if I am less stressed.
Many people live in crisis mode. They bounce from one situation to another, as though they have no control over their lives. They are adrift on the sea of circumstance. This is particularly true of those who find early success in exploiting their circumstances of wealth, talent and/or beauty for their own personal gain without regard for a wider view of life and personal responsibility. Their priority becomes getting more. This lifestyle can work for some. Many celebrities have succeeded in their careers in this way with disastrous results in their personal lives.
Reviewing my priorities is an integral part of my daily practice as a humanist who wishes to promote peace and joy in myself and my environment. Seeing my own priorities, actual and ideal, in the context of other human beings and of our shared environment is essential to being an ethical and contributing member of human society.
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