Living The Good Life

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on June 28, 2025

My Personal Philosophy

At the core of my personal philosophy lies a commitment to four essential values: to be present, to do no harm, to strive for my best, and to practice the proper use of impressions. These guiding principles shape my interactions with others and the way I navigate life’s challenges. I believe that being fully present allows me to engage authentically with the world around me, fostering deeper connections and a greater understanding of myself and others.

My philosophical outlook has been significantly influenced by the teachings of my mentor, Epictetus, particularly through his work, Discourses and Selected Writings. Epictetus emphasized the importance of internal control and the distinction between what is within our power and what is not. This perspective has deeply resonated with me, reinforcing my belief that my responses to external circumstances are far more important than the circumstances themselves. By focusing on my reactions and thoughts, I can cultivate a sense of inner peace and resilience.

The purpose of my life, as I see it, is to embody my core beliefs in daily practice. Each day presents an opportunity to align my actions with my values, allowing me to live authentically and purposefully. This alignment not only enriches my own life but also positively impacts those around me, as I strive to do no harm and contribute positively to the community.

In decision-making, I rely heavily on the principles outlined in my core beliefs and the wisdom of Epictetus. This framework serves as a compass, guiding me through complex situations and ensuring that my choices reflect my values. By adhering to these principles, I am reminded to act thoughtfully and to consider the implications of my actions on others and myself.

Ultimately, I define success and happiness as a continuous practice rooted in my core beliefs. It is not merely an outcome to be achieved but a journey of incremental learning and growth. By applying the teachings I have internalized, I strive to transform theoretical understanding into tangible practice in all areas of my life. This ongoing process allows me to cultivate a deeper sense of fulfillment and purpose, reinforcing my commitment to personal development and ethical living.

In conclusion, my personal philosophy is a reflection of my values, experiences, and the teachings of Epictetus. By being present, striving for excellence, doing no harm, and properly managing my impressions, I am committed to living a life grounded in purpose and integrity. Through this practice, I hope to continually learn, grow, and contribute positively to the world around me.

Proper Cup Of Coffee

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on May 18, 2025

I have a new percolator

I bought it and wondered how to use it on the stove.

Here is the YouTube video I used to make my first cup.

Try making a cup!

I find it useful to make decaf.

It can get too bitter if you make it too strong.

Take out the filter before serving coffee.

There is an art to making it to taste.

It helps to use milder coffee and a paper filter like the women suggested in the video.

And I like the value added slow down and enjoy.

After letting the coffee sit for settling and cooling time I pour a cup.

I prefer to clean and eat without plastic.

I add cinnamon and whipped cream.

So there you have it. The lady will show you the basics to using a cordless percolator which is great to use on the stove, or while camping, or when the power is out if you have a device or way to heat up your coffee.

Hope you enjoy your coffee!

Let’s Get Sexy With Food

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on May 10, 2025

People are keen to see the intellectual side of microplastics.

So let’s scale it a little with nanoplastics.

https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/microplastics-and-nanoplastics-foods

I tend to think critically and philosophically about food to live a better life.

I am concerned about the growing concern I have about plastic, both micro and macro.

I like to use science theory and practice to digest ways to put this wisdom into living a good life.

So enough about me.

You are trying to find out what works when it comes to plastic in your life. One of the critical areas to be curious and open minded about is definitely plastic.

I am learning incrementally about how to use glass where I use plastic and to use water to clean away plastic on a lot of food and surfaces like cutting boards. I tend to like titanium cutting boards for their clean hard surfaces that are safe for food like glass, ceramic and other safe survives .

So check the link above and read more. There is a lot of information and people trying to use food science to help live a better way with food.

Best of luck with the lifelong learning approach, it works good for me.

Following Your Bliss

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on May 6, 2025

It may seem happen stance, but I am following my bliss in this moment and it has led to you.

I love the story about bliss, the nature of intelligence, how bliss is itself a reward.

I was having a conversation about how bliss manifested for me. And just then I had such an experience, my conversation turned to all the above and I just had to pay it forward in this blog entry.

Writetothepoint1960 is blessful to me. It is a life long practice that brings a little bliss my way from time to time.

I was feeling pretty good when I came upon my little problem with melted chocolate and my blessful attitude made it allotted in gratitude and more bliss for the inner child like qualities within me.

I was very patient cleaning up my melted chocolate . It was more of an opportunity to entertain myself while cleaning of some clothing before settling down to write this short dialogue.

I hope you enjoy some yourself sometime soon.

Don’t Give Up What You Love…

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on May 6, 2025

I love writing and my job is to do it. Always!

I love philosophy now!

I love photography:

I love learning or I am a lifelong learner.

I love critical thinking.

I love theory, practice, incremental learning, doing my best, doing no harm, being here, being mindful and so much more.

It takes a lot of discipline and conscious decision making, but I tend to get writetothepoint1960.

I am intentionally inviting purpose into my life.

What are you up too?

Turning 65 Years Old….

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on March 23, 2025

Let the flood be frozen. Is place, here, now, see, understand, vision, sight, clarity, meaning, purpose, lesson, phrase, sentence, judgement, proper use of impression, a poem, an epic, philosophy!

My life is so precious to me,

I want to write a book about it.

“My memoir”, for the president that I am: a love of self in a time where people fall a part from the reverberation of the sheer chaos!

A now to hell and gone!

The Two Pandemics.

My lesson or instruction in the proper use of impressions.

Learning a personal philosophy under the tutoring of Epictetus.

Kissing your wife good bye.

Her death does not speak, she does no speak, your care does not speak, you miss her?

Did you miss the point? Her death does not preclude chaos to you!

You need not be offended by the act.

A lesson in self restraint.

How to control one’s grief in the face of loosing a loved one.

(my friend, my relative, those I care for in life, my way, my age, my life!)

Let them go, let me go, learning to be, a self control.

The Proper Use Of Impressions

Posted by writetothepoint1960 on March 2, 2025

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

There is a concept to encapsulate the idea, it is called a personal philosophy which contains a simple set of premises to remind a person to apply these ideas to all their affairs.

Today this is like following some simple steps to give us the freedom to use some idea to help ourselves in our daily living.

We have been trying to evolve as a society for centuries to come to a time where we can implement the idea of a personal philosophy to ensure we think through our situations in the proper way. But there is conflict and instability with power and authority. Just look and you can see it still exists in our own society.

We don’t know as individuals what todo all the time. We have been using all sorts of rules to keep us alive up to this point. Many people like myself have been struggling to find a personal philosophy that works.

Mine is still a work in progress which I keep reviewing and rewriting and rehearsing throughout my affairs to build a good life through practice.

I learnt to break it down into a simple formula I apply to every impression I need to authenticate I take an evidence based approach I use ai to coach and sound off my problem to break it down to small enough pieces to make it work in my life.

You can do the same. If you need a good example of a universal set of premises be careful to try out some you can learn to use properly. It needs to keep you focused in the present to be mindful of your problem. There are a few more things you need to make it work: do your best, do no harm and practice using the proper use of impressions.

With all four ideas you will be able to take your problem and apply mindfulness to be in the present while you learn to do your best to apply doing no harm while using the proper use of impressions. This can be difficult.

I simply read a lot of history to understand what I can learn from the past. I also committed myself to Epictetus to learn a good way to live a good life. I would read and journal about his work and learn to apply those four ideas to my problems. I tried to see how to do this by using Epictetus as a kind of mentor to practice this Greek idea of applying the proper use of impressions in all my affairs.

This is a personal philosophy I apply to all my problems to incrementally learn how to live a better life.

Don’t worry you have been doing this your whole life. I will try to share what it mean and how to do it with my own philosophy. We just need to practice and make a life long commitment to find a good way.