WHAT actually is IMPORTANT?

Terry

I have a sense of life, don't you?

I have a sense of what I don't want to spend my time doing, what I'd prefer doing and what I'll only do if I absolutely have to.

Don't you?

If I find myself running out of time and I can't do everything on my list---I try to do the most important thing. It seldom is the thing of choice.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT?

You may well ask---"Important? For who?"

What is IMPORTANT might not be what you'd call "good". It might be something that demands attention (such as putting gas in the car or going to the dentist about an aching tooth.)

Things you cannot dismiss from your mind are truly IMPORTANT.

It occurs to me they all have to do with REALITY. The kind of "reality" you might wish was different--but doesn't budge just because you wish it!

IMPORTANT is, after all, a metaphysical term. It deals with what is real and unavoidable.

Ah! First rule of thumb: 1. If you can't avoid doing it, taking care of it, dealing with it or planning to deal with it: IT IS IMPORTANT!

Is minding your parents important? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Is brushing your teeth important? Kind of---but, not immediately :)

If we have that much leeway of choice about a thing---maybe it isn't as IMPORTANT as we think!

What is IMPORTANT?

Understanding the difference between "wants" and "needs". The difference between "good" and "evil". Knowing what your human nature requires for health, knowledge, happiness and a long, prosperous life. Knowing how the world works and what doesn't.

Those sorts of things are inescapable!

You can't be agnostic about IMPORTANT things.

So, tell us, then:

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

hillbilly

It's relative Terry.

Did you ever have a toenail that kept snagging on your sock?

I have one like that right now.

It sorta hurts

I cannot get away right now to cut it

And I cannot get it off of my mind

Terry..

right now you should feel one of your legs getting longer than the other

thats cause I am pulling it

Jeff (shallow class)

BurnTheShips

Getting some free time to go to the range with my new Ruger Super Blackhawk 44Mag.

Hope4Others

Understanding the difference between "wants" and "needs".

I think my wants are very minimal these days. I have learned that the wants are unimportant....things are unimportant...

Needs for me are a needing to enjoy life more and freedom to do so, not working as hard taking time to find pleasure in all so little things

that I find a measure of happiness in.

People have become very important in my life, perhaps that goes with age. (Need and want)

I still want to know about God, is their a God or higher power, I have not gotten too far since that thread..... (Need and want)

I fear the news now...(just through that in)

How can you really split the two apart?

If I analyze just what of said they are both.....or could be.....

h4o

VoidEater

Maintaining a sense of wholeness and peace.

I have developed into a finely tuned receptor of things being "out of place" or "needing doing" in my environment. These things disturb my sense of wholeness and peace. When they are addressed, the sense returns.

"Needs" get addressed becuase unmet needs violate this sense. "Wants" are optional: if they exist, and there are mechanisms or resources to fulfill them, they get addressed - if no, they are dismissed.

journey-on

I have a sense of what I don't want to spend my time doing, what I'd prefer doing and what I'll only do if I absolutely have to.

Well, Terry, right there you have somewhat of an advantage. You must be single, because when you are married, you CAN'T focus on what YOU want to spend time doing, or what YOU prefer doing because it almost always has to include the OTHER (except for little things, of course.)

There are times when I am researching something that totally absorbs my mind. I am in the zone with it and getting a thorough understanding of my research is most important to me at the moment. But then, I look up at the clock and realize I HAVE to go prepare dinner for the OTHER with whom I share my life. I suddenly have to switch gears because dinner is now the most important thing and I absolutely despise cooking, but I do it because I want those I love to be nourished and feel loved and important to me. So caring for my loved ones becomes the most important thing to me.

Right now, I am experiencing a transition from a want to a need about something personal. I have squelched it, pushed it down out of sight, and tried to ignore it, but like a splinter in my mind, it has festered into a NEED. I won't go into details about this "want turned into need", but suffice it to say, it has become important to me to pursue it, but when an OTHER is part of your life, what do you do? Sometimes, you just don't get to do it (in this lifetime, anyway).

As I've said many times, it's all about BALANCE. There are so many things to weigh in life's decisions as to wants and needs and what is truly important. A tip of the scales in the wrong direction can change your life forever.

changeling

I think only a handfull of things are universally "important". Things like: having a measure of good health, having enough money to meet your family's needs, education, kindness, peace...

Other things are subjective. What is important to me may be irrelevant to you (and vice versa), but that does not diminish my attachement to it or need for it.

changeling :)

llbh

To love and be loved. Be healthy and have healthy loved ones

David

OnTheWayOut

A roof over your head, food available to eat, water, some kind of clothing on your back,
human interaction.

I say that, but some prisoners are miserable with that. Some homeless people will
trade the roof for some whiskey or some food. Many would say life, liberty, the pursuit
of happiness. Life includes food and water, liberty might include human interaction in
a positive way, the pursuit of happiness covers just about anything else.

nvrgnbk

I hope that my son will be a better human being than I was.

I try to give him the love and affection that I wished I would have gotten.

He's kept me alive when I had no other reason to go on.

WHAT actually is IMPORTANT?

Share this