The Human Condition: Web Assignment
Living a Deliberate Life
"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived...I wanted to live deep and suck out all the morrow of life..." -Henry David Thoreau
To what degree am I living a deliberate life? To what degree am I guiding my own ship?"
I believe that I am aware of my rudder and aware of my life but I am sometimes letting the current take me as it please and letting my deliberate life slip away. I have a good understanding of the priorities in my life, such as family, God, religion, friends, school, and sports. I try to guide myself when dealing with all these priorities, but sometimes I fall victim to being without a rudder. I am deliberately respecting my parents, staying faithful to God, helping friends, and improving my mind and body in school and athletics. I am not very compulsive when it comes to major things, and often give thought to how a choice can affect me and thsoe around me. For example, I deliberately choose not to drink or do drugs in high school. The prescence is very near and many friends are active drinkers or drug users. However, I steer my ship away from both drugs and alcohol because I realize that I could jeopardize my life, fail in school and sports, and lose trust from friends and family. I use my rudder when I drive by not speeding or driving dangerously.
However, sometimes I can act compulsively at times, and this is when I am not steering my ship or living deliberately. I sometimes choose to curse, choose to partake in gossip and insults, and choose to sin. Therefore, I could and should attempt to apply my rudder in these situations. Sometimes I give in to concupiscence and temptation, and experience regret afterwards. Another area in which I am not living deliberately is procrastination. I often fall victim to waiting to complete or begin a task, and this affects me in more than one way. Such effects can include trouble with family and friends, slacking in school, or physically being stressed. Procrastination is an area where I really need to apply my rudder.
Between living a deliberate life with a guided ship and not living deliberately with an unguided ship, I belive I am living deliberately. I look for long term and short term effects of decisions, and think about how a decision can affect many aspects of my life. I realize I have a strong potential and big future ahead of me, and I need to protect and prepare for this future in the best way I can. I am living deliberately, but I need to live more deliberately and guide myself more when it comes to temptation, sin, and values.