Life Philosophy: An Introduction

Lately I've been reconsidering the philosophy behind how I live.  The dumbed down version used to go something like "Do the right thing as much as possible, absorb everything, and don't give up."  Before that, it was "Get your life together so you can freakin' get married and be a dad."

The whole thing has changed again.  I guess a lot of things get rearranged when you're looking at moving and starting a new lifestyle.  The new philosophy can be simplified to "You only get one guaranteed trip through here, so cram as much as possible into it.  Live a minimum of three lives in one lifetime."

That's not all that descriptive though.  It's not like I want to get married three times (or get three divorces), and I don't know that three kids is my minimum to create.  Here's where it comes into play:

I certainly want three times the breadth of experience people usually get.  The general populace (talking townie-lifers with a disinteresting nine-to-five or worse) have these dreams like seeing Ireland, going skiing on a glacier, getting their poetry published in a book through poetry.com, or just getting out of their horrible nine-to-five office jobs.  Those dreams are great steps for some people.  For many it's really more than they can expect to get from the work they put into things, or maybe more than they can get because of insanely difficult starting circumstances.  I'm not knocking that.  I'm just saying I need more.

I've got three careers lined up and by the end of things, I'll have attended five colleges (one community, two state, one ivy league, and if I'm lucky, one foreign) in two states and hopefully the one out of the country.  I'll be working in therapy, in national or global public health, doing research, and writing fiction.  Maybe if I can figure out how, I'll squeeze in a job as a content editor.  I'm working out when and how I'll make it to live in at least one Asian and one European country.  I've already lived East Coast and West Coast, and hopefully after NYC, I'll be shooting out to Colorado or California to therapize.  I've gone skiing (my favorite sport) out west and in Canada.  Next steps are to do it for a full season, going up most weekends with a season pass, and then to hit places in other countries.

I've already had what I count as two major loves in my life.  Women that affected me in ways that changed how I exist day-to-day and that I will always be grateful for even with the damage they might have helped along.  I intend to have at least one more, and I would love to one day find love, get married and have kids. 

I've had some serious surgeries, a couple of near death experiences, built up a series of invaluable scars, and built myself a strong, personal faith rooted in my natural mysticism.  I've had a handful of best friends that were supportive and entertaining.  I've worked with, dated, and befriended some completely insane people.  I've been punched in the head, knocked down stairs, known a man that died because he fell down some stairs, and I've seen people start to lose their minds.  I've taken midnight excursions to the beach and an impromptu trip to see the first black American President get inaugurated.  I've been on the news while getting a speeding ticket.  I pour through insane amounts of music and writing.

I'm collecting all the experience possible for one person to collect while still retaining their sanity.  It's partially because of how much my father and my grandfather have accomplished.  It's partially because anything less would be a waste of time and talent.