The Book of Ten Sayings 2

 The Second Saying in the Book of Ten Sayings  2. Know Yourself How much misery and discontent and needless expense are created by people who don't know who they are or what they believe. At the basic level of rational survival, everyone needs a moral structure to make decision making easier. Of course, knowing that many or most people have no such moral code, the predators and exploiters are at the elbows of the naive and foolish, who let a stranger or a Hollywood film suggest proper and improper behavior--based on their own desire to shape decisions of their victims. And, of course, the religious cults and the professional predators have a field day harvesting the thoughtless, whose only value is "fun" or "excitement." These folks are always falling back on, "Why not?" because they have not the depth to imagine a negative outcome. "Here, Binkie, have some pills and booze. You'll feel great." "Uh, Okay, I guess, why not?"  If you are a young person, say under 30, you probably think that reading is a waste of time, because you can "always catch the movie." Or maybe you do read--the financial paper, the gossip mags, restaurant menus, romance novels--but don't spend a lot of time on them. Read to settle your brains and to develop a foundation of values and ideas on which you can build a life of meaning. In addition to reading, you need to live a life and to analyze your adventures to see what they mean to you and what kind of person you are an...
Source: The Virtual Salt - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: blogs