Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

CCHelp

By CCHelp ,
in Silversea

 Share

Recommended Posts

mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

Posted
Posted

Greetings Coolers! We have sunshine!!!! :) A small thing but a spirit lifting small thing!

 

Hope Miss S. has started her special day with some awesomeness on the agenda!

 

I stumbled on a review for a new book entitled " The Art of the Good Life" by Rolf Dobelli. It may appeal to Cooler denizens who enjoy the Stoics. From the article:

 

"Naturally, his business background has shaped his thinking but his new book, he says, is more applicable to life in general. “For this book, the Stoics are my biggest influence, starting from Zeno, the founder. They all come from the Socratic tradition. (Socrates) was the first guy to pose those questions.”

So what do Socrates, Zeno and their ilk have to say that’s relevant to our frenetically-paced, technology-fuelled modern lives? A lot, it seems. To take one of his counterintuitive lessons as an example — don’t listen to your inner voice and “don’t make your emotions your compass” — Dobelli argues that “as our emotions are so unreliable,” we should take them less seriously. Here he cites ataraxy, a term used by Greek philosophers to describe the ability to block things out and thus achieve “serenity, peace of mind, equanimity, composure or imperturbability.” In a chapter called The Five-Second No (the lesson is don’t do people favours), he cites Seneca, the Roman philosopher: “All those who summon you to themselves, turn you away from your own self.”"

http://ottawacitizen.com/life/how-to-achieve-the-good-life-a-self-help-gurus-52-shortcuts-to-finding-happiness/wcm/8ec8d8b3-2298-42b8-8c8d-84b4f3bd6889

 

Have a great day all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

Posted
Posted

Hi Spins! Yes, that was a bit of a head scratcher. I read a few bits of the book on the "look inside" option of the amazon listing. What I did read was intriguing!

 

I wish I heard music all the time! And at least with my hearing aids I can hear. Unfortunately the music does not sound the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MLeh

MLeh

Posted
Posted

Penblwydd Hapus, Miss Sophia.

 

Mysty, your book sounds interesting. I’ve found great serenity in studying the Ancient Greeks. My philosophy for being happy is based on ‘deferred’ (sometimes called ‘delayed’) gratification, which essentially is the idea that greater happiness is achieved by not indulging in instant gratification. Unfortunately society is more geared towards the instant variety.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MLeh

MLeh

Posted
Posted

I found the first step towards happiness, or contentment, is to figure out what truly makes oneself happy. Too many of us look at others and think “oh, they seem happy, I should do what they do, and then I’ll be happy”. That’s why advertising works: the people in the ad are generally happy, and we usually don’t buy the product, we try to buy the end result, the happiness. But ads lie and in addition what brings happiness for one person won’t for everyone.

 

Some people indulge in “if only” happiness scenarios. “If only I had [insert object here], then I’d be happy.” But it never works out that way, because happiness isn’t a result, it is a byproduct. Too often we are only aware of our happiness after the fact - sometimes after a loss. “Oh, I was happy then,” is the thought in hindsight. I try to be cognizant of the moment and appreciate it for what it is. YMMV.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MLeh

MLeh

Posted
Posted

I just recently learnt “FOMO”, which is ‘fear of missing out’. (Not one of my issues, but a woman I was mentoring was full of FOMO. Once I figured that out we had a good talk.)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
UKCruiseJeff

UKCruiseJeff

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi M,

 

Interesting post ..... and I answered, but the Tappawallah gods defeated me and I'll have another go!

 

To me there are several different layers at play here. Firstly there is a general frailty of all of us imho to give greater wheight for the credible solution, idea or theory we encounter first when there is no existing opinion already in existance in our mind on any given topic for us to place it against. I think we tend to adopt ideas on a first come first served basis and then defend that idea when we hear subsequent contrary suggestions because we believe what we believe to be true and factual, whereas often we mistake what are simply beliefs as though they were facts. For example we observe every day on forums when someone encounters a problem and then find a solution they presume that is the only way that subsequent people will find it when they encounter the same problem and seem not to factor in inconsistency. What they encounter becomes a rule or fact and not simply a belief.

 

Put simply for example, I think that the first philospher we encounter that seems sensible, we then have a tendency to think that this philospher holds some sort of exclusivity over others that we may not even have heard of or evaluated. Sometimes we are so pleased to hear a theory that seems to fit with us and make sense of what previously made no sense and we then give it perhaps too much wheight. He encountered stoicism but it might have been anything. In the same way that when we hear our parents tell us that we are Christians or Jews or Troggs, we will fervently believe that despite almost anything and hold on to it, for the majority of us, for the rest of our lives. It clearly isn't free thought or ideas we found for oursleves, but credible indoctrination from people we trust and who seem plausible. So perhaps this chap encountered stoicism and that is where he stayed. I believe that clever people understand this. Dumb people surround themselves with people who agree with them and provide the reassurance of "being right" and clever people surround themselves with patient congenial people with different views from whom they can learn from. You do not just learn from clever people but also from dumb people who simply have different views and can explain why.

 

Secondly I think there is a tendency for business people wishing to seek to elevate their gravitas and credibility by wishing to appear that they are well informed and well educated and often these discussions from these people are in order to achieve that philosphy is a good vehicle to do this because it implies a deepness and thoughfulness and a classical education. Rolf Dobelli is out to sell his books as he is an author rather than business person. He will say anything to get attention and he has succeeded here. :)

 

Thirdly, I think it pretty clear that inuition accesses parts of our brain that the conscious does not. Intuition is a precious resource and driver that takes account of everything we have ever learned, suffered, gave us pain or scared us and that we stored into deep brain storage including all feeders into self-preservation and provides us simply with an instinct of what to do that our consicious logical brain has yet to reconcile and and does not have the speed to make sense of. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the most useful thing all of us can do is to do all we can to train ourselves to recognise intuition when it seeks to assert itself and use it as though almost it were a seperate part of our brain and talk to it almost as though it were a seperate person. As you know, because we have discussed it before, I feel strongly it is a skill that can be havested and developed. So to take what this guy says ie our emotions are unreliable, I argue the the reverse is true. Whilst it is true that you shouldn't abandon rationality and logic, you should be prepared to question why emotion or intuition is guiding you sometimes counter-intuitively in a different direction because when you get to the bottom of that question you often find that your intuition was guiding you quite logically and rationally you just hadn't been conscious of all the issues your sub-conscious was. If you get my drift. I am sorry of typos etc ....

 

Today was moules marinière.

 

3a972ca2f9488c506f9e97ba9af40ec9.jpg

 

4336226e8555ea51f055c369597228f5.jpg

 

bf811c8a46a51892a3a9a2b27dab7f13.jpg

Edited by UKCruiseJeff
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

Posted
Posted

J...those moules look divine! Oh I can taste them already! Yum!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I found your analysis very interesting and I agree with it (especially the intuition part). I also think that questing for alternative ways to consider the world and our circumstances is useful. I found the topic of this book to be interesting in that respect. I don't typically jump on the latest band wagon and I do like to explore. Part of the exploration is the confrontation with ideas that go against the grain of things that we had previously held as sacrosanct to our belief system (whether religious or economic or scientific). It keeps my brain from moldering! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
UKCruiseJeff

UKCruiseJeff

Posted
Posted
I found the first step towards happiness, or contentment, is to figure out what truly makes oneself happy. Too many of us look at others and think “oh, they seem happy, I should do what they do, and then I’ll be happy”. That’s why advertising works: the people in the ad are generally happy, and we usually don’t buy the product, we try to buy the end result, the happiness. But ads lie and in addition what brings happiness for one person won’t for everyone.

 

Some people indulge in “if only” happiness scenarios. “If only I had [insert object here], then I’d be happy.” But it never works out that way, because happiness isn’t a result, it is a byproduct. Too often we are only aware of our happiness after the fact - sometimes after a loss. “Oh, I was happy then,” is the thought in hindsight. I try to be cognizant of the moment and appreciate it for what it is. YMMV.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Another interesting post.

 

To me one of the greatest causes of angst and confusion and unhappiness in people I see around me is the constant seeking of answers to which there are no answers. We are such rational beings that we are so convinced that everything is for a reason that seeking reasons for everything is the main cause for example for substituting relgious beliefs for the vacuum left without them. It is easier to believe in a greater force that is managing things than the idea of aimless unpredictable and unmanageable randomness of it all.

 

For example most of us ask ourselves "what is the meaning of life" and "why are we here" and each of us will ask ourselves these things and if we are lucky we might find an answer that seems to explain things for us and give us a degree of contedness and oneness and perhaps provide a way forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

Posted
Posted

MLeh also mentioned FOMO (fear of missing out) and it reminded me of an article I read in The Walrus magazine in May of this year. The article was about our addiction to debt and the consequences of it.

 

From that article: "Canadian households are now carrying more debt than those of any other G7 nation. By the end of 2016, Canadians owed a total of $2 trillion in mortgages, consumer credit, and loans..........

What’s driving our addiction is the fear of missing out—or FOMO. In a 2015 report commissioned by the PR agency Citizen Relations Canada, 64 percent of those surveyed acknowledged feeling envy and disappointment when confronted by other people’s successes; 56 percent of those between the ages of eighteen and thirty felt the pressure to “live large” in order to keep up with their peers on social-media networks. The study also revealed that when parents see other families enjoying certain experiences or products, FOMO drives them to imitate those spending patterns—which could involve paying for multiple vacations a year, backyard trampolines, or participation in representative (or “rep”) sports."

https://thewalrus.ca/canadas-middle-class-is-on-the-brink-of-ruin/

 

Sobering thoughts! I'm not sure if people even have the time for contemplation on the meaning of life these days. The hamster wheel of life is devouring their time and energy. For me personally it has become more of a contemplation on what I need to do before my number is up. And what kinds of questions do I need to ask in the process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MissSophia

MissSophia

Posted
Posted

Good Evening ☺️

 

Thank you all so very much for your kind birthday wishes.....Jeff, loved the card and the cake, bless you...and thanks too for cooking my favourite mussels dish for luncheon!

 

MLeh...Dioch 😉

 

I've had the most lovely day celebrating with friends and family and l feel very blessed to have such wonderful people around me who take the time to make me feel very special....you are all very special to me also here on the cooler....

 

Happiness is personal...we have choices in life and at times it can be tough....we have to be thankful for what we have and make the most of it....what makes me happy is to make others happy...especially my family...

 

It's been a long day...furry baby and l are bushed but happily so......will catch up with all the news tomorrow...

 

Sophia 😊

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...