philosophy throwdown

Came across a seriously mind-altering concept today, followed by a seriously motivating (and unrelated) quote...thought I'd share since it really made me stop and think for a second - which happens to be a pretty rare occurrence.

Tetrapharmakos: "The four-part cure," is the Greek philosopher Epicurus' (341 BC, Samos – 270 BC, Athens) remedy for leading the happiest possible life. The "tetrapharmakos" was originally a compound of four drugs (wax, tallow, pitch and resin); the word has been used metaphorically by Epicurus and his disciples to refer to the four remedies for healing the soul

The four part cure is as follows:

Don't fear god,

Don't worry about death;

What is good is easy to get, and

What is terrible is easy to endure

What a cure to live by. For someone who worries about the unknown, the unforeseen, the possibilities, the probabilities - this is such an inspiring viewpoint. When you read through the logic behind the four-part cure, the reasoning behind each line, the clarity with which it explains the rules for living is so simple and easy to follow- it becomes so obvious. 

The other quote I stumbled upon maintains probably the single-most motivating factor in how I live my life and make decisions every day. Despite my relatively high anxiety levels with regard to most aspects of my life, I do my best to avoid complacency, and when given the option, always try to take the risk when it makes sense, despite the potential pitfalls, because I know picking up the pieces is a lot easier than trying to go back in time and change the things you wished you'd done different. So there ya have it... Carpe Diem, babes.

"...the most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later."

-Randy Komisar, The Monk & The Riddle