A Way of Being

For many years of my life now, I have been looking for a Way of Being. That is - some sort of guiding principle for how to correctly live my life (if ever there was a correct way of living).

To even begin to find such a way, one must seriously ask oneself - and seek externally - what does it mean to live correctly.

Luckily for me - many, many years before I was born - people much more smarter, much more contemplative, much more creative and much more humble than me have battled with this similar query. From the great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, to the stoics like Marcus Aurelius, to the Utilitarianism of Bentham, to the Nihilism of Nietzsche and Heidegger, to the pragmatists like William James, to the existentialists like Kierkegaard and, again, Nietzsche, to even warriors and ronin like Miyamoto Musashi.

I further gain inspiration from (in part due to my orthodox upbringing) religious texts - like the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita, which each provide their own guidelines on a way of being, within their own religious underpinning. Only a fool would ignore the religious, a phenomenon that seems deeply inbuilt within, not all, a majority of the living population.

In my search, I have read countless books from philosophy to religion to self-help (self-help being my least favorite of them), I have watched countless videos, countless articles, countless conversations, and countless number of hours pondering on it myself. Through my readings, I have crafted, sculpted, painted, created, perfected - my very own Way of Being. It works for me, it may not work for you. It is a simple way, elements of it you will surely have heard before if, you have ever asked the same question as I, but put together, it is certainly effective, for me at least.

After all my readings and research, which by itself is not enough, but must be combined with ones own life experience, I have self-imposed a doctrine known as The Golden Triangle.

The Golden Triangle, in its essence, is a philosophy or doctrine of 3 elements, or more clearly, 3 areas of focus (like the three vertices of a triangle).

These 3 areas of focus are The Mind, The Body and lastly, The Soul.

The core tenets of The Golden Triangle is simple, and is as follows:

"Everyday, do something that improves all 3 aspects of the Golden Triangle, or at least stimulates it."

If I can do something everyday (and yes it has to be everyday if it is to be a Way of Being) in order to improve the mind, the body and the soul - I can, all other factors considered, go to sleep happy.

"We are what we repeatedly do - excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."

The wise words of Aristotle strike true. If I can make The Golden Triangle a habit, it will greatly increase my chances of excelling.

Here is a short, personal breakdown of how I intend to apply the Golden Triangle doctrine to my life:

1) Improving the Mind - Having a continuously curious mind helps me in this regard. Try to absorb new pieces of information every day, however unlikely the source. With the internet at your fingertips, there is no excuse for lack of resources. Learning a new language is also greatly intellectually stimulating, so continue learning Korean everyday until you can hold a conversation with Jo. Finally, writing helps me with this too, as the process of writing involves a lot of research and learning.

2) Improving the Body - The easiest mentally to conceptualize yet at the same time the hardest of the three vertices to actually do. Your body is the only thing you truly own on this Earth. It is the engine that keeps everything else running smoothly. To think that the wellbeing of the body has no connection to the well being of the mind is naïve and foolish. Trying to do some physical exercise everyday is certainly challenging, but I always find that I have a better day if I get a good work-out in. But one has to be a realist, and recognize that it may not be possible to make it to the gym everyday, which is why the "…or at least stimulate it." section of my Way exists. If I can stimulate the body by doing yoga, or calisthenics, or even a short run at home, it can sustain me - at least until I get the chance to get back to the grind.

3) Improving the Soul - Empirically this one is the hardest to explain, as what constitutes someone's soul is close to impossible to define. For this I can only speak for myself. I am a strong believer in the creative act as a manifestation of the soul. When the artist is engaged in the act, the material body takes a back seat, and the soul is called upon to produce, either by its own volition or some divine Muse's, but it produces nonetheless. In it's most basic essence, this vertex can be summarized as "Do what makes you happy". And I mean, truly happy, not superficially happy. You will know deep in your heart what that thing is, and if you don't have a thing, try a bunch of different things and see what sticks! In this infinitely complex world, you are sure to find something - infinitely complex as you may be.

So Ladies and Gentledogs, for better or worse, like Moses descending the mountain with the Ten Commandments inscribed on stone tablets - I have left my Way of Being available to anyone who is daring enough to look. The Way of The Golden Triangle is not an easy one, and many times you will falter, as I have, but perhaps, as the days go on, and you build and build continuously, you will eventually reach that Nirvana of Discipline, that Holiest of Holy routines, that coveted top of the pyramid: Self-actualization.