When you’re old and full of aches and pains, why do you keep pushing yourself to “Keep Going?”

This question is on the lips of many pensioners.

There is a theory that finding a meaning to life is man’s primary motivation in life and the reason to keep going.

The answers to the question:

First: the love for one’s loved ones to tie to.

Second: a talent to be used.

Third: Memories worth preserving plus to care for a loved one.

To be there for them, your presence is important.

This is the challenge of the meaning theory to weave these threads into a pattern of meaning.

The central theme of existentialism is:

To live is to suffer.

To survive is to find meaning in spite of the suffering.

If there is a purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering.

But nobody can tell another what this purpose is. Each must find out for themselves.

If the person succeeds in finding the meaning, they will continue to grow.

HE WHO HAS A “WHY” TO LIVE CAN BEAR ALMOST ANY “HOW”.

Even in the worst circumstances, the human freedom of the ability to choose one’s attitude toward those circumstances remains.

PEOPLE CAN RISE ABOVE THEIR OUTWARD FATE!

We have to awaken to the fact that we are RESPONSIBLE TO LIFE FOR SOMETHING, however grim the circumstances may be.

People can find meaning in creative work.

A passive life of enjoyment gives you fulfilment in art or nature.

But there is also purpose in a life barren of both creation and enjoyment, namely, a person’s attitude to his existence, an existence restricted and limited by external forces.

There also is meaning in suffering!

Hard to believe but true!

The way in which a person ACCEPTS their dire circumstances, and all the suffering it entails, the way they take up their cross, gives them an opportunity to add deeper meaning to their life.

This ACCEPTANCE is proof that man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate.

Life means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfil the tasks necessary to fulfil it.

When a person finds themselves in a bad situation that can’t be changed, they know they are going to suffer, so they will have to accept their suffering as their task.

No one can relieve them of their suffering or suffer in their place.

Their unique opportunity lies in the way in which they bear their burden.

When you are facing an uncontrollable situation, you start to despair and think to yourself that you have nothing more to expect from life.

But you have to realise that life is still expecting something from you; something in the future is expected of you.

When you become conscious of the responsibility you bear toward a loved one who needs your caring presence, or to your unfinished work, you will never be able to throw away your life.

Because you now know the WHY for your existence and you will be able to bear any HOW.

THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL ME, MAKES ME STRONGER!

You cannot lose hope and give up on life.

For no person knows what the future will bring.

Human life under any circumstances still has meaning!

The meaning of life differs from person to person, day to day, hour to hour.

What matters is NOT the meaning in general BUT the specific meaning of a person’s life at any given moment.

Every situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve.

Your meaning in life always CHANGES, but never ceases to be.

We discover our meaning in life in 3 different ways:

By creating a work or doing a deed, achievement and accomplishment.

By experiencing something or encountering someone.

By the attitude we take toward “unavoidable suffering”.

When we can’t change a situation, we are challenged to CHANGE OURSELVES, to change our thinking about the situation.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO SAY “YES” TO LIFE IN SPITE OF PAIN, ILLNESS AND DEATH?

By accepting your circumstances completely.

You have to make the BEST of any given situation.

You can cope with suffering!

JUST AS LIFE REMAINS MEANINGFUL UNDER ANY CONDITIONS, SO TOO DOES THE VALUE OF EACH PERSON STAY WITH THEM, AND IT DOES SO BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON THE VALUES THAT HE OR SHE HAS REALISED IN THE PAST, AND ISN’T CONTINGENT ON THE USEFULNESS THAT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT RETAIN IN THE PRESENT.

TO SUM UP:

Is it possible to find meaning in old age?

Yes, it is.

Through helping others to cope by caring for a loved one for example.

Being there for them.Your presence is needed.

Plus:

Informing and entertaining others through blogs.

We’ve been to the Moon, now what?

The Moon never did become a holiday destination, or a stepping stone to the Universe beyond.

Just eight years after Kennedy”s speech, Apollo launched carrying Armstrong and Aldrin into history. Collins manned the spaceship.

Now, entrepreneur Elon Musk is preparing for a Mars landing!

But we have NOT returned to the Moon in 50 years and any Mars project planner should consider to revisit it first.

Travel between Mars and Earth requires them to be suitably positioned in their orbits.

This would mean the Mars astronauts would have to stay on Mars for 6 months before a return trip could begin.

Could the spacemen sustain themselves for half a year? No one knows.

The longest that humans have remained on the lunar surface is 75 hours!

It seems you would have to use the Moon as a jumping off point.

So, we have never returned to the Moon and it would be a must to return if Mars is to be realised.

If we are going to put a footprint on Mars we need to address 3 challenges:

Rockets, Restlessness and Radiation.

Rockets: Going to Mars will be very expensive–100 to 500 billion dollars!

To keep costs down you would need to build reusable rockets.

Restlessness: You would need to put astronauts in isolation for 6 months to see how they would react.

But Musk said he would keep people busy doing tasks.

Radiation: The astronauts and the spaceship would be exposed to solar radiation.

Some say extra spaceship shielding is the answer but this increases weight so fuel consumption goes up and so do costs.

The best solution may be to get to Mars faster! So to minimise radiation exposure–this would mean faster rockets.

Lets return to Elon Musk and his Space X technology company which has the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonisation of Mars.

Elon Musk is a 48 year old billionaire who wants to reduce the risk of human extinction through over population and climate change by establishing a human colony on Mars by 2050!

By 2022, Musk wants to reach Mars and place power and life support infrastructure for future manned flights. He believes there is water under Mars’ South Pole.

The next step would be a manned mission by 2024.

The plan is to send two cargo ships alongside two crew ships taking the first people to Mars.

The people would set up a propellent plant to make fuel for a return trip.

They also would use solar powered hydroponics to grow food without soil.

Musk wants to visit his Mars colony in his lifetime to check on the project.

He said with this project people will die but ultimately it will be made safe and comfortable!

Is this all a Pipe Dream of Musk’s?

TIME WILL TELL!

Its been 50 years since I watched amazed at the moon landing”s grainy TV pictures on July, 20th, 1969.

Big things were happening, not only the moon landing, but I was leaving in 2 days for England to get married to my first wife.

By 1969 there had been 8 years of Space Race with the Russians. The Apollo project was launched in 1961 by President Kennedy.

If you were within 3 miles of the launch pad your entire body would have shook!

It took millions of parts to build the Saturn rocket. 400,00 people worked on it from 2500 companies, costing 30 billion dollars.

I remember when it was uttered by Armstrong, “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind.”

People ask, why did we go to the moon?

We probably gained some technological  knowledge.

The Russians were beating us in the Space Race and we had to prove our superiority.

Can you imagine, 3 men of identical stature, all were 5ft. 11 inches tall and weighed about 160 pounds, squeezing themselves inside the command Module onto couches built to fit them, facing a large instrument panel.

I don’t know whether we will ever go where no one has gone before again. There’s no political will and the money is required elsewhere.

But the Chinese have money to splurge on a trip maybe to Mars, to gain international political prestige.

Now, the reason this post is titled with a question mark is:

I ran into a guy, named Charlie, at a University of the Third Age meeting who is convinced the moon landing was faked!

He said, the Soviets had been first to get satellites into space and live animals into space and back, and a man and woman into space–so the USA had to do something to counter this.

The reasons he believes the moon landing was a hoax are:

None of the photos from the moon shows any stars in the sky.

This can be explained by the fact that the camera settings weren’t adjusted to capture them.

How come the landing vehicle’s thrusters didn’t create a large hole on landing?

This can be explained by the fact that the pressure was too low to blast a hole.

How come the flag was waving when there’s no wind on the moon?

The flag appears to be waving because when it was placed there the inertia from when they let go of it kept it moving.

These explanations didn’t convince Charlie. He still believes the government faked the landing on a large mock-up of the lunar surface in the Nevada desert.

When the Apollo craft was supposed to return to Earth, the astronauts got into a space pod and were transported over the ocean and pushed out.

So, according to Charlie, NASA was technically incapable of reaching the moon, but the race with the Russians forced them to fake it. Also, the government needed a distraction from the unpopular Vietnam War.

I left Charlie, the conspiracy nut, shaking my head.

I still think the mission was a remarkable technical feat and I am proud that we made it first to the moon.

MINDFULNESS

I hope to acquire the capacity to be mindful of the present moment and to Accept “What Is” plus ridding myself of unhelpful habits that cause needless suffering.

Your thoughts are chaotic, so what to do?

To get the mind to settle you need to focus on an ANCHOR.

A place to put your attention as the mind settles itself.

We use the breath as an anchor.

Your breath is always present.

Put your attention on the rhythms of your breathing-inhale, exhale, in and out, this brings calmness to the body and focuses our Awareness.

Your mind will probably wander but keep going anyway.

Focus on your breath for at least 5 minutes at the start.

You will notice a pleasant sensation that relaxed breathing brings.

Watching and attending to your breath is a basic mindfulness practice.

Why do we always try to AVOID life’s difficulties?

We don’t want to confront our fears so we evade them!

The motivation to avoid conflicts and difficulties drives us right into SUFFERING!

Resistance to bad situations just increases our suffering.

Only the COMPLETE ACCEPTANCE of a bad situation leads to the end of suffering.

What is the difference between pain and suffering?

Because we live in a physical body pain is inevitable.

Suffering is NOT the same as pain.

Suffering is the mental and emotional RESPONSE to pain.

Suffering occurs when we RESIST the way things are.

To end suffering you must ACCEPT “What Is”.

DISSECTING MINDFULNESS

The technique of Meditation is called INSIGHT and it is a set of mental activities aimed at experiencing a state of uninterrupted mindfulness.

It is the conscious awareness of the Present Moment.

What is a state of AWARENESS?

When you first become aware of something, there is a fleeting instant of Pure Awareness just BEFORE you identify the something, just before you objectify it.

This moment of Pure Awareness is passed over, but the purpose of Meditation is to train us to prolong that moment of Awareness.

When it is prolonged it changes your entire view of your world.

What is Mirror Thought?

It is thought that reflects only what is presently happening in exactly the way it is happening.

It is NON-JUDGMENTAL OBSERVATION.

Whatever experience we may be having, mindfulness just ACCEPTS it.

It is simply another of life’s occurrences—what is there—is there!

Mindfulness is Impartial Watchfulness.

It treats all experiences equally.

Nothing is suppressed and nothing is repressed.

Mindfulness is Present Moment awareness.

It takes place in the Here and Now.

It is the observance of what is happening NOW.

To sum up:

Fully developed mindfulness is a state of total non-attachment.

If we can maintain this state we can achieve liberation from our weaknesses.

Meditation holds mental hindrances at bay.

THE RESULT IS A MIND THAT IS COMPLETELY UNDISTURBED BY THE UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE.

And to get this result you need to ACCEPT the ups and downs.

Resolve to do this and commit to it completely.

Ease physical discomfort by easing mental suffering.

To ease mental suffering pay attention to you aches and pains and to your mental stress by ACCEPTANCE of your life as it is at the moment.

The three components of physical discomfort:

The unpleasant sensation itself, pain, aching muscles, etc.

Your emotional reaction to the discomfort, fear frustration, irritation, etc.

The thoughts that are related to the first two components.

Stress stories you tell yourself, “This pain will never cease!”

Mindfulness helps you to respond skilfully to those emotions.

There are two ways to respond with aversion and fear or with acceptance.

When you resist and tell the discomfort to go away you increase your mental suffering.

The alternative is to respond with ACCEPTANCE.

Nothing in life is to be feared only to be understood and accepted.

So what to do?

Understand and accept whats going on in your mind and gently acknowledge that irritation is present and then incline you mind toward compassion for yourself.

ACCEPT AND ADAPT.