The goal of realizing the value of life
The ancients once taught us that when considering major issues, we must first consider the end, then consider the beginning, and then from beginning to end. That is to say, when we encounter an important problem, we must first consider what its final result is, and then we can take action according to the result we need. In the same way, when we face such a major issue as the value of life, we naturally need to consider what its goal is.
Or we should aim high, or we should aim high, or we should do great things and achieve great things, and so on. However, it is undeniable that how many people will eventually become a reality? In this way, does it violate a person's ambition? Of course not! In my opinion, if you only think of a good ideal, you don't care if it is possible to realize it; Or only consider the greatness of the goal, regardless of subjective and objective conditions. Therefore, it is ok to be ambitious, but it is only a dream in the end. In order to change this situation, I think we need to abide by the following principles when determining the value goal of our life:
First, we can have lofty goals or grand ideals, but only as the driving force for our initial struggle in life, and we can't stick to a corner. In other words, when the subjective and objective environment we face has changed unexpectedly, our ideal can't even be realized. Imagine that at this time, we still need to stick to the established goals and not change them! For example, a young man wanted to be a scientist since he was a child, but in high school, his grades in mathematics, science and chemistry were quite poor. In this view, it is difficult to realize the wish of becoming a scientist. In that case, why not make some adjustments according to the actual situation! Therefore, it is necessary to have lofty goals, but it is not necessarily appropriate to be opinionated.
Second, we should have both long-term and short-term goals. The so-called long-term goal refers to the goal we need to fight for all our lives, because it may or may not be achieved at all, so we often have to fight for it all our lives. Short-term goals are different. As long as we can make them more practical when making them, we will certainly realize them. We say this because the principle of our short-term goal is never to set the goal too high, but to make it possible to achieve it, or to achieve it through hard work. The advantage of this is that we can constantly achieve one goal after another. In other words, this can make us move from one victory to another, thus enhancing our self-confidence.
If we only have long-term goals without short-term goals, we may be disappointed for a long time. In this way, it is not only easy to lose confidence, but even disheartened. To truly realize the value of life, we must use one victory after another to enhance confidence and inspire fighting spirit.
Third, never forget the pursuit of "moral integrity, meritorious service, and making a point" and regard it as the ultimate goal of realizing the value of life. As for other grand goals, lofty ideals, and even becoming a model of the world and contemporary, these are beyond the reach of most people. Because people's intelligence, knowledge and ability are different, it is impossible for everyone to have lofty goals. But as far as Li San is concerned, almost everyone can do it except making a statement, and if they can do something, they will gain something. The reason for saying this is because of "moral integrity" and "meritorious service". It is what we should do normally. As long as we do it, it will have an effect. In short, as long as we really work hard in these two aspects, and no matter where we make achievements, it is to realize the value of life.
As far as "Lide" is concerned, as a person, one must first learn how to be a person, that is, anyone must be a real person before he can realize the value of life. In other words, the realization of personality value should be put in the first place. But how can we learn to be a man? Is to pay attention to personal cultivation, that is, to cultivate morality, to update morality, and constantly improve moral quality. In this respect, as long as we can persist for a long time, your character, virtue and sentiment will be widely recognized and praised by the people. This is a realization of the value of life.
When it comes to "meritorious service", it is not just those national heroes, or those who have made great achievements. In fact, no matter who, no matter what job, can provide good services to others, or make contributions to society, it is also a meritorious person and a person who has realized the value of life.
As for "making a statement", it is of course an intellectual's business, so only those who can do it can do it, and those who can't can't do it must not be forced. Because there is not only one way to realize the value of life.
Internal and external causes of realizing the value of life
No matter what things are, their development and changes are influenced by internal and external factors. This can be said to be an unshakable truth. As far as realizing the value of life is concerned, it is no exception. In this case, it is necessary for us to explore the internal and external causes of realizing the value of life.
The so-called "internal cause" here actually refers to our subjective conditions, such as our own moral quality, knowledge level, ability, health status, mental outlook, psychological factors and so on. Everyone has these things, but they are not the same, even very different. And this difference and difference will directly affect the result of realizing the value of life, so we have to pay attention to it.
As for "external factors", or objective conditions, it refers to our region, country, society and times, as well as politics, economy and culture. Because different times, different countries or regions, their politics, economy, culture and so on are different, which has different effects on our realization of life value. In short, different living environments have different effects on our realization of life value. Even in the same country, due to different regions, cultural awareness or customs will affect our realization of the value of life.
As far as the relationship and function between "internal cause" and "external cause" are concerned, there used to be a very popular view: internal cause is the basis of the movement and change of things, and external cause is only the condition for the development and change of things; Internal factors play a decisive role in the development and change of things, and external factors can only play a role through internal factors. In order to prove the correctness of this view, an interesting example is given: only eggs can hatch chickens, but stones can't hatch chickens. To tell the truth, this example is definitely not the product of sophistry consciousness, let alone a case. Perhaps it is for this reason that young people at that time almost worshipped it as truth. But in the 1990s, some people began to question its correctness and explained many reasons.
As a matter of fact, endogenous determinism does have its correctness in biology, but it is not absolute at the same time. As for personnel, it is difficult to set up. Mencius once said such a passage: "The ancients, who gained ambition and added it to the Ming Dynasty, could not cultivate themselves in the world;" If you are poor, you will be immune, and if you are rich, you will help the world. "The general idea is that in ancient times, people's success benefited from grace, and if they were unsuccessful, they cultivated themselves and made their virtues manifest in this world; Therefore, when you are in trouble, you can improve yourself, and when you are enlightened, you can be kind to the whole world. From the perspective of "being alone" and "helping the world" here, it shows that this person is a person with both ability and political integrity, or a person with both ability and political integrity, and his internal factors can completely make him realize the life value of "helping the world". But why should he make two choices? The fundamental reason lies in whether it is "poor" or "up to". And this "poverty" and "success" refer to external causes. Thus, the essence of this sentence is that external factors have played a decisive role.
Isn't it? In real life, there are few cases where external factors play a decisive role! During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, nearly one million young expeditionary forces in China went abroad to fight against Japanese invaders and serve the motherland, but tens of thousands of them died in Indian savage mountain, and they died of hunger and disease. If internal factors play a decisive role, don't they have the determination and ability to attack the Japanese aggressors and serve the motherland? Obviously not! There is only one reason, that is, the environment is bad. In other words, external factors play a decisive role.
People nearby are like old revolutionaries who were falsely accused of being traitors, spies, scabs and capitalist roaders during the Cultural Revolution. They are physically and mentally damaged, extremely miserable, and some even become ghosts. If we want to investigate whether they have any problems, we have every reason to believe that they will always be loyal to China's * * * production party and revolutionary cause. So, what are the reasons for their punishment and abnormal death? Needless to say, it is an external cause, a confusion between black and white, and an upside-down environment. The decisive factor here is external factors!
The most recent person is the employment problem of college students. A few years ago, some graduate students sold cigarettes, some college students sold meat and so on. At that time, many people didn't understand this very well. They once mistakenly thought that they had failed Guopei and gave up their major. However, as time goes by, people find that more and more college students are unemployed. Some people may ask, is it poor business knowledge or weak business ability? In short, is there something wrong with their internal factors? Answer, of course not! As a matter of fact, many of them are ambitious and work hard during their studies. It is said that they can make great achievements in their respective professional fields. However, contrary to expectations, there is not so much work to accept them. Therefore, many college students must face the threat of unemployment. What is the reason for this? External cause!
As far as the examples listed above are concerned, it can probably explain such a problem: many times, external factors also play a decisive role. The reason why I say this is not equal to denying the importance of internal factors. In fact, many times internal factors play a decisive role, so both internal and external factors should be taken seriously.
The ancients said, "cultivate one's morality and cultivate one's nature, and the whole family will live." "Destiny", fate, fortune, chance and opportunity. This means: (we should) improve ourselves and wait for opportunities. The "self-improvement" here refers to the internal cause, which only provides a possibility for us to realize the value of life. Whether these possibilities can become a reality, we have to wait for the opportunity. Only then can we realize the value of life. Timing, opportunity, or fate and luck are all external factors. Because what we provide is reality.
Since we provide the possibility of realizing the value of life, there is no reason why we should not attach importance to it, otherwise even if the opportunity comes to you, you will not realize your life value. The ancients once said that "to live comfortably, we must wait for the opportunity", which means to stand in a favorable position and wait for the opportunity. In fact, this is what the ancients called "Yu, then Li; If you are not prepared, you can't stand. " He who is prepared is prepared. When we are ready, we can stand firm, that is, in a favorable position; Without preparation, it is untenable, that is, it is impossible to be in a favorable position. What is the vantage point? As far as realizing the value of life is concerned, of course, it means that our subjective conditions (internal factors) are completely possible to realize our value of life. But how can we create these conditions? In order to create these conditions, we must solve the following problems:
First, the first thing is to make yourself a real person, that is, to know the truth of being a man and learn how to be a man: to be a man with high morality and noble sentiments; Be a kind, honest, tolerant and kind person; Be a kind person who helps all beings. People without moral life are not real people, and morality is the basis of all activities in human society. At the same time, we should not only be satisfied with the general moral level, but also pursue the highest moral realm. Only in this way can we consciously realize that our life is valuable and we can realize the value of life.
As a person, if he can't consciously realize that his life is valuable, then he probably doesn't know what the right life path is, and naturally he can't find a way to truly realize the value of life, and may even fall into the quagmire of monetarism, hedonism and materialism. If a person really falls into these mud pits, then don't think about what life value he can achieve, and of course, you can't expect him to create any social value! Because of this, we must first be a real person, a person with morality, conscience and conscience.
If a person has no morality at all, just imagine, can he have the right direction in life? That's the truth. Anyone who loses the right direction in life is likely to go astray, regret for life, and even embark on the road of perdition, such as those who commit felony!
Some people may say that no matter who you are, no matter what era, the pursuit of happiness should be everyone's best choice. I absolutely can't agree with this statement, because what he means is that no matter whether a person has morality or not, he can pursue happiness. Is that really the case? One of the three programs in "University" is "Stop at Perfection". And this is the ultimate goal of life that we should pursue, and it is also the real happiness of life. The supreme goodness is the highest state of morality. Although few people can reach this state, the pursuit of it can make us remember to be good at all times, thus purifying our souls. Everyone knows that our life is precious and our life should be beautiful. However, only the life with purified soul is beautiful, and the value of life is lofty.
Secondly, in order to make our subjective conditions (internal factors) reach a higher level, we must also attach importance to learning. The Book of Rites says, "People who don't learn don't know." What is Tao? Tao, law, principle, reason, order and law are also. Without study, it is impossible for a person to realize the laws and norms of the development and change of things, or the order and laws. If so, then we can't survive in this world at all. Perhaps it is for this reason that Confucius asked us to "take Tao as the purpose". The so-called "ambition in Tao" means to have a firm ambition to know Tao, understand Tao and make use of it. Everything has its own heaven, heaven, tunnel, human nature and so on. When we know and understand these Tao, we know and understand things, physics and reason. If we have a deep understanding of these, then we can deal with the relationship between good people and people, people and things, and nature. Only by handling these relationships well can we live in this world smoothly and realize the value of life.
Fertile land can bring us abundant food. If we don't cultivate it, we will get nothing. A clever man can accomplish many things. If he doesn't like studying, he is sure to accomplish nothing. "Book of Rites" says: "If a jade is not cut, it will be useless." A person is like a piece of jade. It is impossible to be useful without carving (that is, learning). The problem is as simple as that. We must learn to succeed. You need to study more if you want to succeed. Wang Chong once pointed out: "If you don't learn to know yourself, don't ask yourself, and act in ancient and modern times, there is nothing left." At the same time, he also said, "A wise man is unlearned." In other words, even if you are a smart and capable person, you won't achieve anything without studying. Originally, "the reason is not refined, but the knowledge is clear." "No one is smart and stupid, he must study." In order to make our life more exciting, we must study hard and be good at it. Because only learning can improve our moral quality, cultural quality and psychological quality, as well as professional quality and adaptability. As long as our quality is improved in an all-round way, it is entirely possible for us to achieve great things and make great achievements. In this way, the value of our life will naturally be realized, even greatly.
This is the problem: grand goals are commendable, but only what you get from your study can achieve you; Giving up studying but wanting to get results is tantamount to talking in a dream. It is often said that we can go further, but we can't achieve this goal without studying. In order to cultivate yourself and realize the value of life as much as possible, we should pay attention to learning from an early age. "If you learn a lot, you will be incompetent." Of course, we should not only attach importance to learning when we are young, but also never give up learning all our lives, which is what people often say: "It is never too old to learn." Perhaps it is for this reason that Confucius taught us to "never tire of learning".
But it is worth noting that we never learn what we see regardless of good or bad, nor do we read what we see regardless of good or bad, but we should read good books and learn well. In other words, don't we have the idiom "Open books are beneficial"? If you say so, this sentence is not bad! Yes, this statement is really wrong. Otherwise, if we explore its origin, we will find this problem: According to Wang Guan's Notes on Swallows in Lushui in the Song Dynasty, "Emperor Taizong read Magnolia three volumes a day, so he made up for it with leisure and said,' Opening books is beneficial, but not tiring'." "This means that Song Taizong has to read three volumes of Taiping Yu Lanqing every day. One day he missed something and made up for it in his spare time. He once said that "opening books is beneficial" and thought it was nothing to worry about. Here, we must first understand that Song Taizong read Taiping Yu Lan, one of Four Great Classical Novels in the early Song Dynasty. Of course, it is a good book, and its so-called "open book is beneficial" is aimed at this book. He didn't say that no matter what books he read, it would be "beneficial to open books".
When studying today, we must read only good books and not bad ones. Many teenagers embark on the road of crime because they read bad books and watch movies and TV works that promote pornography, violence and murder. We must remember this lesson!
Reading should not only distinguish between good books and bad books, but also be targeted, follow the principle of applying what you have learned, and choose the book that suits you best. For example, books that explain philosophy, books that are helpful for personal cultivation, books that can improve cultural knowledge and professional skills, and so on. In short, reading books that are beneficial to realize the value of our lives is the right way.
Third, there must be both principle and flexibility. No matter what we do or what problems we face, there is no doubt that we should stick to principles. This is fundamental and comes first. Because adhering to principles means not violating the laws of development and change of things. If you don't act according to the law of development and change of things, or solve problems, it is impossible to do things well and solve problems. It is based on this that adhering to principles is fundamental and the first.
Yes, we must stick to the principle. But because the objective conditions or environment are millions, we must be flexible. This is what Confucius said, "A gentleman is always in the middle." What's in it? When the upper pointer of the sky is aligned with the lower pointer, it is in the middle position. At this time, the balance is balanced, that is, and. Mandarin cloud: Biography of He. In other words, no matter what, only when it reaches the realm of "harmony" can it develop. As we all know, everything is the unity of opposites. Western philosophers believe that both sides of contradictions must strive to transform them so that things can develop. We philosophers in China don't think so, especially Confucianism. In their view, as long as the two sides of the contradiction can reach the level of "moderate" through coordination, that is, the meaning of "appropriate" is just right, then the two sides of the contradiction will reach balance, that is, "harmony", and things will develop. From here, we can easily see that if we want to be "harmonious", we must first ask for "middle". Perhaps it is based on this, so the Doctrine of the Mean says: "The winner is the foundation of the world; Harmony is the way of the world. "
China is the foundation of the world because everything has its place, and China is constantly changing with time. We insist on peace, which is a principle and cannot be changed. However, because China is constantly changing, when we seek China, we must decide. This is flexibility. In short, the so-called flexibility is actually to take flexible measures so that we can achieve all harmony and harmony forever. If we want to realize the value of life, we should do the same.
For example, a gymnast, with good quality and strong ability, can completely realize his desire to win the world series. Imagine that if you can do this, you will realize great value in life! Unfortunately, however, he was seriously injured in a training session, so he can no longer be an athlete. What should he do at this time? It is a principle that the desire to realize the value of life cannot be changed. Can you achieve your wish by doing so? The most appropriate way is to face the reality and flexibly change the specific goal of life value! This is the embodiment of flexibility.
Things in the world are always changing, so while adhering to principles, we should also change our strategies because of changes in the objective environment. This is a practice that adheres to principles and lacks flexibility. Only in this way can we successfully realize the value of life.
Fourth, we should have the ability to understand and handle the relationship between interests and justice. The relationship between justice and benefit is closely related to each of us. No matter in life or in work, we will inevitably encounter the contradiction between justice and benefit, although our predecessors have taught us how to deal with it countless times and provided many successful experiences. However, even in today's advanced and developed era, there are still many people who cannot correctly handle the relationship between righteousness and interests, especially those who advocate total westernization or accept western "individualism" and those producers and operators who have lost their conscience. Everyone regards "personal interests first" as a classic. If not, we wouldn't be materialistic and smelly today; There will be no loss of good and evil; No one will endanger the country and the people for their own selfish interests. In order not to lead us astray, we must improve our ability to deal with the relationship between righteousness and interest, otherwise it will not help us realize the value of life.
As we all know, everyone has the right to live; If we want to survive, we must get the necessary material and spiritual satisfaction. Even if everyone wants to live a better and more comfortable life, it is human nature. However, if you can't cross the bottom line, you can't break the law or violate morality, public order and good customs. Confucius once pointed out: "being rich and expensive is what people want, and there is nowhere without it;" Poverty and meanness are human evils. If you don't get them their way, you won't go. "Getting rich and being an official is what people expect, and it is unacceptable not to get it through proper methods; Poverty and meanness are disgusting to people, and we don't need proper methods to get rid of them and avoid them. What is the appropriate method mentioned here? It means to meet the requirements of righteousness! That is to say, when we face profit, the first thing we should consider is not to be "mercenary", but to "see what is profit", "righteousness is the highest" and "righteousness is the quality". Righteousness, appropriateness, appropriateness, appropriateness. In short, it is a normal desire of people to think rich and expensive. The key is whether our acquisition is appropriate, whether it is appropriate, whether we should give priority to righteousness, take righteousness as a principle that must be observed, and make it "unjust and rich, like Confucius." "
If the relationship between justice and interests can be handled properly, when personal interests conflict with the interests of the country and the nation, the interests of the country and the nation can be given priority. When there is a conflict with the interests of society or others, we will consider both our own interests and the interests of society and others. This can not only handle the relationship between individuals and countries, society and others, but also achieve their own physical and mental balance. And this is very beneficial for us to realize the value of life.
Fifth, a healthy body and mind is an important guarantee for us to realize the value of life. It can also be said that it is a necessary prerequisite for us to realize the value of life, or it is one of the important internal factors.
The health mentioned here includes both physical and psychological aspects. In other words, although we are healthy, it does not mean that we are a healthy person. Because physical health is only a part of health, only when you have mental health at the same time can you become a truly healthy person.
Getting healthy is relatively easy. As long as the method is proper, you can get rid of sub-health whether you are moving or not. But it is not so easy to ask for mental health. Because there are too many factors that affect mental health, such as our own ideological realm, cultural literacy, genetics, life experience, etc., all of which will have an impact on our psychology. There are also changes in the environment (including the natural environment and human environment), emotional entanglements, the torture of diseases, and the mental imbalance brought about by a fiercely competitive society, or the setbacks encountered on the way forward have caused us extreme harm. These will affect our mental health. Based on this, we should pay more attention to mental health.
To this end, we must strengthen personal cultivation to improve our ideological realm, and we must study hard to improve our cultural literacy. Only in this way can we treat all unexpected changes in the world with a normal mind, and it is also possible to face sudden blows and setbacks with a peaceful mind. In other words, as long as we are mentally healthy, we can better deal with the problems we encounter. The so-called "circumstances follow the heart" and "hearts are born together" means this.