My Own Philosophy of Life

Rudolf Bless
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If you stand on your head for long enough, you may come to believe that the world as you see
it is normal. But that belief will not change the fact that trees grow to the sky, and rocks fall to
the ground.

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Table of Contents:

Page 4: Loneliness
Page 5: Loneliness II
Page 6: Satisfaction
Page 7: Opportunities
Page 8: The Road
Page 9: Happiness
Page 10: Look Around
Page 11: Solutions
Page 12: Here it goes
Page 13: Listen
Page 14: Nothing
Page 15: Sandcastles
Page 16: Untitled
Page 17: Time
Page 18: Break it off
Page 19: The 6 Elements of life

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 Loneliness

What do you do, when your in trouble way over your head? Who do you turn to? Parents?
They would have no understanding or pity. Religion? But what if your problem is in direct
conflict with your religion? Would you still find sympathy or comfort? Or do you consult
friends? But trustworthy friends are so difficult to come by – and even harder to recognize.
No, in the end you must come to one simple solution: we are all, indeed, alone. So, if we truly
are alone, why do we hold on? Why would we care about anyone judging us for letting go?
Because in life, the ability to let go is the most important, whether it be of life itself, or the
death of a pet, the failure of a relationship, the loss of a loved one. It is an ability which we all
posses, however some of us have more control over it than others. And if we all have the
ability to let go, why don't we follow our violent human nature, and let go of moral
principles? Because we care about other people judging us. It is a reality that we all must
learn to accept – the fact that we care. We care about how we look, we care about how others
think of us. We care about our reputation, about our self-created image of security. And the
moment that image of security is challenged; we let go of all moral principles and attack. So,
it would appear to come down to this simple conclusion: we are alone, only because we care.

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 Loneliness II

So, if the only reason we are lonely is because we care, why do we continue to do so? Is it
because of a deep rooted belief that we are alone, and therefore we seek something to fill in
the void in our lives? If so, this is the worst (for lack of a better word) reason. We are not
alone. At least, not in a metaphorical sense. In reality, there is only One. All separation is an
illusion concocted by the mind. Have you ever heard of the saying ‘time is the shortest
distance between two places’? The truth of that statement is found in the illusory reality of
time. There is no distance between any two places, aside from the distance we choose to
enter. Once this can be understood and accepted, one can see that in order to defeat the
program (or addiction) of loneliness, one merely has to look inward, and love yourself. Once
you are able to do this, people who are truly in touch with themselves will (the only people
really worth being around) will feel that love, and will begin to love you too.

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 Satisfaction

The strangest thing happened to me today. It started with me having to write one simple word:
satisfy. I couldn't do it. No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't do it. This made me
think – what is satisfaction to me? Is it found in compliments from others? Or does it place its
origins in music? After much debate with myself, I came to this conclusion: satisfaction is
self-imposed by people who are unhappy. They see themselves, old and gray, and they feel
like they have to make sense of the life they spent following the rules. But to people who truly
know the meaning of what our purpose is, satisfaction doesn't exist. They just live out their
lives, happy for one sole reason: they get to choose their way. They know that when their time
comes, they will be able to laugh at everyone and say: 'I lived my life. What about you?' And
now, you must make your choice: will you live your life, and not care about anyone who
doesn't agree with you? Or will you waste your life caring about what others think of you, and
trying to find satisfaction in what you have become? Because in the end, we all have that
choice to make. Whether we shine in our own, unique way, or if we follow the crowd into
whatever doom awaits us. Because that's the beauty of the lives we lead – we all have choices
to make. And whether or not we find satisfaction in those choices, is our own problem.

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 Opportunities

Its strange... I am sitting in an airport right now, and I realized how many planes take off other
than the one you are waiting for. That made me realize, its like opportunities in life. You will
see many people take opportunities that may, or may not, appeal to you. Either way, you start
to wonder why yours can't come sooner. The answer is simple: everyone has been waiting for
their moment to come, and some have been waiting longer than others. When your 'plane'
finally takes off, there will be people sitting on the ground wondering when their time will
come. The cycle keeps repeating itself, just like life. However, if your 'flight' is cancelled (or
you miss your opportunity), you need to remember: you only receive what you have earned
for yourself. You must try and change yourself so that you are in a better position to receive
what you want.

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 The Road

We just keep on walking

On the road to nowhere
With nothing to see
And nothing to know.

I wonder…
Will they understand?
Will they finally awaken?

‘Cause I know they can see

And I know they can know
The things that bind them
To a world of materialistic misunderstanding.

All the while

I sit and wait for them
Patiently wondering
When the time will be right.

Will I understand?
Will I know?

Will I finally see?

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 Happiness

What makes people happy? We are told by eastern religions that materialism is the root of
unhappiness, so naturally the opposite would make you happy. But is the answer really that
simple? Because I believe that everything can be lost (therefore, everything is material). Even
wisdom is lost when passing between lives. What we retain, is the discipline to gain this
wisdom. So then what makes us happy? Or is happiness simply something meant to distract
us from the fact that we loose everything when we move on? No, I think happiness is a state
of mind reached when something meaningful is accomplished, and our soul congratulates us
on pulling ourselves through.

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 Look Around

I feel like I’ve been left behind.

But now I wish that I was blind.
‘Cause all I ever seem to see,
Are things that should have no part of me.

And now, as we struggle to move along,

We struggle, to sing our song.
‘Cause each one has their own tune,
Without which they could never bloom.

But when their time has come,

They will sing their song.
And in the dying light,
Forever, they shine bright.

And now the bells that had never rung,

Will shine out of the darkness, out of the sun.
But now my friend, why can’t you see?
This world can longer be a part of me.

So as the sun’s light began to fade,

I looked to the people, and I bade:
Goodbye my friends, so long, farewell.
Tonight, is the night that I am well.

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 Solutions

I must say, it’s a mystery to me why people read the works of the great philosophers of our
past, simply to gather quotes to comfort themselves, as well as those around them. It appears
to me that these writings were created not to give answers, but to form a basis for an
individual to come up with their own answers. And yet people sit in a perpetual darkness
pretending to have answers that are not their own. Instead of blindly following what others
have said, I think we need to come up with our own answers to our own problems. This is not,
however, to say that we should turn away from all outer sources of aid and comfort, for these
often reveal to us solutions that we had overlooked, or were just outside our spectrum of
perception. Instead, we should use this outer inspiration (or love, if you will, for what is the
difference, but for the means through which they are described?) to solve a situation in a way
that is best for the individual. This solution will often represent our lifestyle, which is what
gives us the hope to get up the next day, even if it seems not to have worked. And, we must
trust the fact that the outcome will best suite our life’s path; that everything is, and remains, as
it should be.

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 Here it goes

So here it goes,
The story of a lifetime
That no one knows.

But tell me now,

What else is wrong?
Is your future my past?
Is my love your life?

So just let me know

When our time has come
When all’s been said and done.

But let me know

When our time has gone
That you slipped away from me again.

So here it goes
The story of a lifetime
Untold

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 Listen

Instead of looking to each other for inspiration, I think it could be much more beneficial to
look to nature. As an example, lets look at the Ocean. In her vastness, one could easily
assume that she is the commander of all of the earth, when in fact she is possibly the most
humble and loving beings to inhabit our Earth. She is the cause of no negativity, and no
suffering. She simply is. All suffering that appears to come from her is, in truth, nothing but a
reaction. Erosion is a reaction to waves pounding on the shore, but these waves are nothing
but a reaction to winds. These winds, all the while, are themselves reactions to shifting
temperatures, with no intent at all. If we were to seek to become more like this – seek to react,
instead of to cause, if we were to find this humility, we could actively create a new Earth, in
which greed, corruption and lack are nonexistent. The Buddha realized this, and it became the
basis of his ‘Silent Sermon’, as did Jesus Christ, when he told us to contemplate the flowers,
and learn how to live from them. If we chose to learn not from each other, or our collective
past, but from Mother Nature herself, there is no telling what we could achieve.

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 Nothing

Is nothing left to be...

On a sunny day, the moon determines the sea.
Now nothing’s left to be.
I shake away the fear, and simply see...

Is nothing as it seems,
With everything we see,
The sun still shines upon the sea...
I walk away, and still I find,
The ground beneath my feet.

Is everything we see,
A picture of a perfect world,
Never to be?

Is nothing left for me?

Is nothing hanging in the trees?

Is nothing left to be,

Ashamed of what its supposed to be?

And as the stars, they shine so bright,

Their light is reflecting off of me...

Is nothing left to be,

I feel the waves pounding
In the sea.

Does anybody question,

Who to be?
Who’s telling you to be,
The thing you fear the most?
Not me...

Does anybody see,

The things I see,
That aren’t meant to be?

‘Cause nothings making sense,

Is anybody trying,
To break free...

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 Sandcastles

There were once four boys who went down to the beach one day, and built sand castles. Each
boy stood proudly by his castle, proclaiming its beauty and perfection. Then, the jealous boy
decided to destroy one of his friend’s castles, and so he kicked it down and trampled it while
the owner wasn’t looking. Upon realizing that his castle had been destroyed, the boy cried out
and pointed to the perpetrator, and cried out “He destroyed my castle!!! Help me seek my
revenge!!!” At this, the other boys helped to beat up the perpetrator, kicking him and spitting
on him. By the time they had finished mutilating the boy and were finally returning to their
castles, they realized that while they were busy seeking revenge on the jealous boy, the tide
had come in and had destroyed the remaining castles. The boys slowly came to the realization
that if they had, instead of seeking pointless revenge, worked together to build a stronger
castle, they just might have been able to withstand the tides of time.

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 Untitled

In the dead of night there’s nothing - no one who might

But tell me, who then can shine bright?
Brighter than the moon, brighter than the sun
Tell me now - is there anyone?

So when the shadows begin to fade,

There’s nothing left, nothing but the shade.
Shade left by a day soon gone,
Still... I’m not quite sure what we won.

So when the night begins to shine,

Who then, will call themselves mine?
Mine to keep, mine to show,
Mine to say when to go.

And now there’s nothing left but sadness,

Nothing left but fear.
Nothing - not even music to hear.
And then the seasons change,

Its simply age -

Our time, is drawing near...

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 Time

The illusory reality of time is something that has been accepted by many, but understood by
few. Think to yourself: ‘what is the one single moment that I have ever experienced?’ That
one moment, that one eternal being, has been termed the present in order to be categorized
into our linear understanding of time. The past is an illusion, and the future does not exist.
They are one and the same. Indeed, one could even say that the ‘past’ and the ‘future’ are all
nothing but unique manifestations of this eternal now. From a scientific standpoint, we can
observe the famous ‘Space-Time theory’. In a nutshell, it says that space and time exists
unanimously. They are as one. Logically, therefore, we can assume that since all space exists
at the same time, then so does time itself. The truth of this can even be seen in the Mayan
language: it has been said that Mayan words, when read backwards, give more depth to their
meaning. Take, for example, the word “K’in”. It is taught that when this word is said, we are
converting the breath we receive through our nose into a wind that heals the body, and
purifies the mind and soul. When read backwards, as “Nik”, it means pendular, or moving in
the fashion of a pendulum. The mere idea behind this suggests that though things may work
backwards and forwards, they will always return to one point, as does a pendulum. This one
point is what has been termed the ‘present’. So, thought the illusory mists of time may seem
daunting at times, it is imperative to remember that your consciousness could be the sun that
dissolves them.

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 Break it off

Suddenly it all makes sense.

Especially in the present tense.
All that I thought would fade away,
I can now see is here to stay.

But now never mind the thoughts;

They speak their lies
And never again,
Will they break their ties.

Their ties with speech,

Their ties with soul.
These ties
That may just seem too old.

But should they break,

What’s left to take?
Nothing but the world,
Nothing but the truth.

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 The 6 Elements of life

The 6 elements I see as necessary for life are Patience, Courage, Confidence, Discipline,
Compassion and Humility.

I do not merely refer to Patience in the sense of being able to sit in one place waiting for your
moment, but rather in the deeper sense of knowing when the moment has come. It takes a lot
to be able to wait for your time. But it takes even more to know what to do when that time has
come. When we are able to recognize our time, as well as know, with Confidence, what to do,
we will have mastered the art of being Patient.

Courage, in this sense, is meant in the classical sense of standing up to a lion. Both
metaphorically and literally. It is the courage we feel when we wake up in the morning: the
knowledge that you have the strength and power to face whatever you may face in the day.
This, in itself, takes a lot, but no more than each and every one of us must have the Courage
to admit we posses. I say we need courage for this, because it is always easier to think that we
can’t make it any further, and just give up. What we need to realize, however, is that shortcuts
are often a more perilous route to take. If we can remember the strength we have to stay true
to ourselves, we will have mastered Courage.

Confidence, much like Courage, is the ability to stay true to yourself, regardless of the
circumstances. It is an ability which we all posses, but few of us ever truly realize. However,
Confidence, I believe, refers also to the ability to speak from your heart, instead of just from
your mind. If we can remember, and emanate, the Love that resides within us at all times, we
will have mastered Confidence.

To me, Discipline is the ability to remain steadfast in the activity you undertake, regardless of
its nature. You must fin yourself like a well-aimed arrow – single pointed and driven, never
stopping until the target is reached. It is the ability to remain present I your consciousness at
all times. It is to enter a meditative or trance-like state that allows us to complete what we set
out to do, all the while shutting out any unnecessary distractions. When we have entered such
a state, we will have mastered Discipline.

Compassion, here is meant as the deeper form of Love. Because while Love is something that
comes and goes, Compassion is ever living. It is also not meant as a synonym for sympathy,
for sympathy is merely recognition that someone is different, or less fortunate than you. No,
Compassion is meant as the recognition of the connection to the divine that exists within each
one of us. When we master Compassion, we will understand the universe, and our innate
connection to both it, and all the beings that inhabit it.

I believe that Humility is more than just not showing off, it is more the ability to know that
the only people genuinely worth relating with are the ones who understand you better than
yourself, without having to speak a word. With this understanding comes the revelation that
you need not take part in the different ‘cliques’ that are seen throughout the world. You
should also not seek to form your own, for that would be missing the point. Humility is also
meant as a form of modesty, but not in order to seek the appreciation of others. Rather, it
should be to acknowledge that there are bigger things going on, and that you may have only
solved a small part of them. This is not, however, to say that you should see what you did as
pointless. It was merely something you had to experience in order to deepen your
understanding of the process of life. Once we are able to acquire this attitude, we will have
mastered Humility.

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Here I have outlined the 6 guidelines that I have found to be crucial in life. But you should
always remember to discern what your path calls for, and find both the Wisdom to follow it,
and the ability to Forgive yourself should you stumble.

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