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the right path
such beautiful weather - and I am still there!
(wilhelm raabe)
Our world has really gone off the rails. You can get this impression by looking around our planet right now. A dangerous virus is raging, and we are dealing with this challenge in very different ways. In the U.S., the most recent president was an unpredictable one for whom sincerity played no role and whose actions were characterized by egoism and emotions. Russian troops are invading Ukraine. There is war in Europe. Nature is showing us very clearly what it thinks of climate change, which mankind has triggered through its uncontrolled urge to grow. At the same time, digitization is turning our lives upside down. Products, professions and industries that used to be indispensable are being swept away by new technologies. Concentration in the economy is increasing and with it wealth inequality: the rich are getting richer and richer, while many people are being left behind.
Some people lack a common thread in these times. What can I hold on to? Who tells me what is right and what is wrong? Is there hope for me and for humanity? Or, to paraphrase Goethe: If only I knew what holds the world together at its core. What is the formula for a successful life, for happiness and contentment? Can I plan success systematically? I'd love to have a "world formula" that simply explains on one DIN A4 page what to do and what not to do.
That I understand what holds the world together at its core.
(Goethe)
No problem! The crucial factors for a good life can be summarized on just one page and they are not new. With their help we can better understand and classify current events, we can pave our way out of crises and find inspiration for a good future. The insights of wise people have helped me in my life to make more right decisions than wrong ones, they have given me the orientation that many are so painfully missing right now, they have told me at which crossroads I should better turn. It is fascinating how many similarities there are in the statements of the great Greek and Roman philosophers with those of the important thinkers from Asia. Aristotle, Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius - Buddha, Confucius and Lao-Tse - they all formulated the decisive criteria for a good life more than 1,800 years ago. Today, the wisdom of these philosophers shines brighter than ever. Thus, most of the laws of my world formula are derived from ancient philosophy. Following Lao-Tse, I have given it the title "The right path".
How do I achieve deeply felt gratitude and the feeling of serenity that the old Stoics so beautifully called peace of mind? What brings me happiness and genuine joy in life?
Important note:
The English translation of a (originally English) quote is often not the English text in the original, but the English translation based on the citation text commonly used in German.
The ultimate goal of human life Is happiness.
(Thomas Aquinas)
human happiness
consists in successful
Action.
(Aristotle)
Happiness lies in virtuous action. We are happy to the extent that we realize the human best in ourselves.
(Aristotle)
There is no path to happiness.
Happiness is the path.
(Buddha)
Nobody saves us except ourselves.
No one can and no one is allowed to do that. We must walk the path ourselves.
(Buddha)
Most people are as happy as they want to be.
(Abraham Lincoln)
happiness means being inwardly balanced and not asking for anything more than what you have, or agreeing with the given circumstances, achievements or the like, not having anything to complain about.
If the Lord your God has blessed you in everything, in your harvest and in the work of your hands, then you shall truly be happy.
(The Bible, Deuteronomy 16:15)
Happiness is not getting what you want all the time. It's loving what you have and being thankful for it.
(unknown)
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening.
(Lyrics Winter Wonderland)
He who no longer remembers the good that has come to him has become an old man in his heart.
(Epicur)
Porch rules: read a book, sip iced tea or hot chocolate, enjoy the seasons, feel the breezes, listen to the birds, relax.
(unknown)
My crown is called contentment. A crown that rarely pleases kings.
(Shakespeare)
If you want to be thankful to the gods and thankful for the course of your life so far, think of how many you have overtaken.
(Seneca)
Enough is a feast.
(Buddhist proverb)
When you wake up in the morning, think what a delicious treasure it is to be able to live, breathe and rejoice.
(Marc Aurel)
He who stands dissatisfied at the goal of the course, has acquired nothing, but has wasted much.
(Shakespeare)
May you always have an eye for the sun that shines through your window and not for the dust that lies on it.
(Irish proverb)
Gratitude and wheat flourish only in good soil.
(Saying)
It is not the happy ones who are grateful. It is the grateful who are happy.
(Francis Bacon)
The voice of the flesh speaks: do not hunger, do not thirst, do not freeze! Whoever is granted this or who could hope for it, may compete with Zeus in happiness.
(Epicur)
Ingratitude is always a kind of weakness. I have never seen capable people being ungrateful.
(Goethe)
Joy is the health of the soul.
(Aristotle)