Camping with Mom and Dad and my Siblings; probably in the late 60s or early 70s. The author is on the left wearing the yellow jacket.
“God intended for you to be happy.” – Mom
Weltanschauung is a German word that describes one’s particular philosophy or view of life. Literally translated it means worldview (see Friedrich Nietzsche’s Weltanschauung (worldview). I have always felt that it best encapsulates my own search for meaning in my life within both a spiritual and secular context. This search has taken me down many paths, the occasional dead end, and down more than one rabbit hole. Yet, I am still a seeker and I suppose I always will be. One more page, one more experience, one more fork in the road, one more roll of the dice. Does the answer to the questions of life lie around the next bend? Why am I here? What is the meaning of my existence? What will I leave behind? My blog is intended to give you a peek into my sometimes messy world.
Before I go much further, let me share a little background and a couple more thoughts. My blog really got its start at 12:35 A.M. on June 16, 1959. A little spank on the butt by Doc Wissman and I opened my eyes to the world. In my Lockean view of the world I was born a tabula rasa, a blank slate. No preordained plan that God had of my life. I would and still create my own life.
Since then, it has been one hell of a journey. I often think about the twists and turns of fate along the way. What if I was not my parent’s son? What if I had taken a different job after college? What if I had not met this or that person? What if I hadn’t become a father? What if I had taken a different fork in the road? What if? What if? Life sometimes feels like a board game where you roll a dice and move your token down a path until suddenly you are sent in an entirely different direction. A chance meeting, a life crisis, a new friendship, the end of an old one, the loss of a job, each can propel you down a different and often unexpected path. For me, all the what ifs are an academic exercise at this point and I really don’t want any do overs.
My search for meaning also reminds me of the Latin phrase Amor Fati, which means the love of one’s fate. Accepting that one should embrace life with its good, bad, and the ugly. Life will throw you a curve ball and then it might groove a fastball down the middle of the plate. Stay in the batter’s box and wait for the next pitch. You might strike out but then you might knock a homer.
All these things have helped me pursue my Weltanschauung. So my life’s path along with its fates and all the twists and turns continue to propel me towards my final world-view. Will it be a vain pursuit?
“Know thyself? If I knew myself, I’d run away.” Johann Wolgang von Goethe
Me at Acadia National Park near Jordan Pond – early 80s.
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