It seems to be the policy of those who claim to be spiritually enlightened that every day is precious, that we should live it as though it is our last, and to do all the important things so that when we die we die happy and contented, etc etc.
 This is mine: dont live by time, every second you live brings you closer to death, stop worrying about it, dont spend so much of your life wondering how you shall get the big things done. Its the teeney weeney insignificant things that matter. Those moments with people that you may not even remember now when you shared a glimpse of tenderness. Its buying a chocolate bar for your friend cuz you were thinking of them. It's hanging out your skylight in the middle of winter when its raining heavily. Its playing on a stage and feeling the ecstasy of the whole situation flow through your veins. That is life. Next time you're out, notice everything, the way peoples lips move when they talk, how the water drains down the sewers, appreciate the ugliness as well of the beauty, and forget about time, it dosent matter! When all else fades, it is the pain which still remains, and this is life.

hello the_lonely_pain,

please let me welcome you to our forum.  It's nice to have you here.

Now then, to your post:   Do the spiritually enlightened, regard every day as precious?  Perhaps from a Taoist perspective, we should seek to get in the moment, to experience the Tao, but this is overly simplistic since Taoism is certainly not the be all and end all of enlightenment.  However, it does have a point about the 'precious present', the here and now, though this isn't synonymous with every day being precious (since if every day is precious, it doesn't necessarily imply that every moment is precious).  But I think what you were claiming was that spiritual enlightenment states, 'treat everyday as your last, and therefore try to accomplish as many of your objectives as possible'.  But I don't think that a reasonable claim to make of the spiritually enlightened.  If anything, their view resembles that of Taoism, which seems in many respects similar to yours.  And so, it seems like in your first paragraph that you're setting up a straw man since you're misrepresenting what the spiritually enlightened say.

Look, even if you unintentionally set up a straw man, I won't hold it against you since I think you said something worthwhile and that certainly other people would gain more meaning from life if they experienced what you described in your last paragraph.  If I understand you correctly, you say that we shouldn't live by time since every second you live brings you closer to death, and instead, we should pay attention to the little things and not worry about the big things in the future.  So, are you saying we should live in the here and now, in the precious present, without regard for time?  And if so, then how is this different from Taoism and what the spiritually enlightened say?

Anyway, thanks for the post.  Personally, I think it's best to experience multiple perspectives and worldviews, so that you're not thereby limiting yourself.  Experiencing the Tao and the 'precious present' is great and all, but if this is all you experience thru life, then that seems like an extremely limited exposure to what life's about.  And what's life about?  for me it's about transcendence and overcoming, and this necessarily means that any philosophical take on life, include Taoism and the 'precious present' (and Christianity and any philosophical/religious/spiritual system or worldview) must be assimilated, overcome and transcended, because that is the nature of truth, life, and experience.  

take care,
Shawn

hey Shawn,
Thank you for your reply, I am going to take a thing for you, I can tell, because I love people who can cram critisism and compliments into one divine package so neatly. What I meant about the spiritually enlightened where those who suppose that they are, the people who claim that thier inner peace is the be all and end all, those who think that they are philosophy, do you know the sort of people that I mean? And no, I think we should also build for the future, i mean, just because you may get run over tomorrow is no reason to drop out of college right? My point is simply that to live we must forget that there is no conclusion to life, to allow ourselves to be. Can you understand that? Anyway, thank you again, Alexis

hello Alexis,
thank you too for your thoughtful posts, and I'm glad you appreciated both my compliments and criticism, though the compliments outweigh the criticism, or at least that was my intention.  

When you talk about  the people who claim that their inner peace is the be all and end all, I do think I know what you're talking about.  But such people merely fool themselves.  I mean, you can try to wake them up, but many people prefer to sleep thru life.  Inner peace is important, very important--inner peace and 'centering' oneself.  However, equally important I think is overcoming opposites, extremes, and contradictions.  To contain the extremes within yourself and be able to reconcile them, or at least hold on to them.  Most seekers after inner peace, many of them misguided Buddhists, are just plain lazy and decadent, and are like those birds that stick their heads in the ground.  And the fact that they make their decadence and vice a virtue is contemptible and laughable.  That's not to say I think Buddhism is 'bad'.  In fact, I think Buddhism is a very enlightening philosophy that more ppl should learn about.  However, many ppl wear the guise of being a 'Buddhist' when in fact they're hypocrites and misguided individuals who are not very spiritual, and not at all enlightened. It's these hypocrites and misguided individuals that my criticism is directed towards, and not Buddhism itself.

Now, before I stray too much from the topic, let me recall what you said: 'My point is simply that to live we must forget that there is no conclusion to life, to allow ourselves to be. Can you understand that?'.   Yes, I understand that well.  I would further add that sometimes being forgetful is a good thing, and not just forgetting that there's no conclusion to life, but also forgetting negative experiences for example, or even your entire past on some occasions (which allows you to look on the world with new eyes and new identity).

Anyway, I look forward to further discussions with you, Alexis.  Btw, have you read Nietzsche's 'Zarathustra'?

take care,
Shawn

sorry.. can I say something?

The thing about time....
it's actually pretty funny... I observe myself alot nowadays and I find I seem to always be in a hurry.. walk fast.. even if I don't have anything/anywhere special to go to... (I'm not the only one doing this)
*Bing
Take it easy- calm down- enjoy
(even if the weather is shit while your walking to a bakery in germany)
I can understand what alex, is that his name .. is saying.
Hmm... it is all about experience...
I love adventures!

How should we live? However the hell we want. It's up to yourself. Different ways for different people you know. I personally prefer just enjoying what comes and trying to experience and grow as much as possible.

I totaly agree with SeanF, doing wat u want is the only way to truley be free and to realy understand yourself. Obviously there must be limitations to this theory and obviouse flaws stick out like a sore thumb.
However the real question is who does put up the boundries that we are forced to live behind and who is in control of our destinys as I am pretty sure its nobody in this forroom this means that to follow this philosophy means quite probably standing up to a power far greater than your own.
These are the things that people need to understand b4 taking on this philosophy.

from the moment we are born, death! shadows our every move.
you say live each day to its utmost, which means what?
surely our whole exsistence is a journey into the wilderness, searching for understanding so that we may evolve into something higher.
life is a painful exprience, just think when we are born we come out screaming.
this world is our doorway to eternity, now which direction we take is ours and as einstein said every action has a reaction.

Thats a gr8 question to ask and it is very difficult to put into words but I'll try. In short i guess it means do what u want to do and screw anyone who doesnt agree with you.
It is my view that we shud live as we want to and not be dominated by some coperate ruled goverment determined to make everyone just another cog in the machine of all consuming greed.

Many times in my life I have been labeled a freak, anarchistetc.etc. for my beliefs but i cannot believe that it is right that we are given the gift of life and are forced to live of the scraps of it dropped to us by the self righteous bozo's at the top of the hierarchy.

These are my beliefs however and I know that many people will disagree with me  I do not want anyone to think that i will criticize any one who argues against me.

LostCause 8)

How should we live? Self-knowledge is the key. Seek, find, but do not settle for beguiling illusions and false notions. Realize the facade of external consciousness, and then plumb to the depths of your inner consciousness. Manifest that which is hidden in the depths. ......

deeply ingrained into survival are we, for it is the very nature of nature, our nature, is to exist, for life, to be ours, two choose, a stable, more comfortable, place to be.

life tends towards a stable existence, i think, change is rippling through our present collective indivudual lives, creating waves, producing current, within our flow, we becomes washed by lapping waters, pulled by ripping tides, moving through the ebb and tides of the world, to swim or drift at our choosen, time frames, measure in the divisions, of change, to change, our life, is good, good is how we should live.

m

This is simple: Seek wisdom. Do everything that you do for wisdom. Philosophy is both the pursuit of wisdom that makes life worth living and the internalization of that wisdom. Wisdom is gained through self-examination; therefore, you have to examine yourself. You don't know what you really want, what you think the human good is and how it can be achieved, until you question all of your assumptions. Otherwise you will buy into false gods, like consumerism, blind faith, hedonism, and the like. And you'll wind up miserable for this.

So seek wisdom.