We've always known

 I didn't realize I had such an interest in philosophy until I started writing these blogs. Well, when I was growing up, we didn't talk much about self-awareness and all that, we knew who we were. I don't recall questioning too much about philosophical things. You went to church in the hope it would keep you from going to hell. That was the purpose of that. You went there, contrite and begging for forgiveness. You certainly didn't question any of that. No, everything was pretty much cut and dried, as the saying goes. You didn't question much. The why of things wasn't near as important as what it was. That's the way it is was the most frequent explanation for anything. Another popular explanation was, God moves in mysterious ways. But as the years have passed by, I have been questioning things. I'm questioning those moves. Philosophy, I have discovered is mostly, what if. The longer you live the more what ifs.

 I haven't made a study of it, this philosophy stuff. I have sporadically read what the great philosophers of the past have had to say. Epictetus is one I especially enjoy. Marcus Aurelis is another. I have a picture of them standing on the street corners or in the Forum explaining everything to anyone who will listen. Hailed as great teachers and learned men their wisdom has come down through the ages. I know you can go to college and get a degree in philosophy. I'm just not certain how you get a job being a philosopher though. Haven't seen any ads for that position. It's a job I would love to have. All you have to do is sit around and think all day. But I wouldn't want to go to philosophy school. I mean, what do they teach? This is what so and so thought about this. None of it can be proven as fact, it is just thoughts, hypothesis, and guessing. I can hear plenty of that in any barroom in America. And some of it is as meaningful as what those ancient Greek guys were saying. The truth is most of that has been repeated a thousand times over the centuries. 

 I've often said there is little that can be said that hasn't been said before. While I'm composing these blogs thoughts come to me, little phrases, quotes or snippets of things that I have read or heard. I will often check them for the source of the saying or whatever. I don't want to be accused of plagiarism! If I'm going to say something stupid, I'd like it to be my own. I have taken to writing down whatever words of wisdom I feel are noteworthy from my writings. Yes, I know it is a bit of vanity, but I write them in a booklet with the date and my signature beside them. The vain part being I hope one day to be quoted. My hope is to leave some words behind, some words of substance. I can't expect anyone beyond my grandchildren to remember anything I have ever said, so I figure to write it down. The world will pick and choose who is to be remembered. The written word makes the best reminder, that's my thinking.

 I believe we are all philosophers. Each of us seek to know the truth. That truth is different for each of us. That's the philosophical part. Do you really want to know yourself? That's a rabbit hole that is pretty scary. That is where you will encounter the fundamental elements that make you who you are. I haven't found a reference for this quote, anyone to contribute it to, but it goes like this, "if you want to know what you believe, write." I've found that to be true. I know it is true because at times I pause and consider rewriting what I have written because I don't like it. It isn't that I don't like the words, I don't like the sentiment. I've discovered misplaced beliefs. That's the rabbit hole. When you start letting go of belief, the whole structure can become unstable. Belief, not knowledge, is the binding force in the universe. It's what we have always known.