Philosophy

The big one. Big questions. 42, and all that.

As a topic for study, I encountered philosophy at University while studying computer science and maths. This was in the guise of scientific philosophy, mainly centred on the writings of Karl Popper.

When it comes to philosophy of life, the search for my own philosophy is a journey that ends just short of the target when I die, but not before.

I really like one particular aspect of the US Bill of Rights: The right for every person of “pursuit of happiness”. Not happiness itself, obviously, as you never know whether a person can even become happy, but every person has to have the opportunity to pursue their own happiness. And in the end, is that not the ultimate goal? When your kids come to you seeking approval for various choices at various times in their life, it’s all about: “Will it make you happy?” If yes, it’s great.

Is everything relative? Can I be happy if everyone around me is even happier? I see (too) many people around me, where it seems this doesn’t seem to be the case. There seems to be a focus on what other people are doing and what other people have. If it’s perceived that some other person has it easier in his or her pursuit of happiness, it’s unfair to the extent that it becomes impossible to pursue one’s own happiness. What absolute bullshit!

Take charge of your own life; make your own decisions in pursuit of your own happiness. Be responsible to yourself and others for those decisions. If you chose to live with someone or on the other hand you chose to leave someone and live alone, and in either case end up unhappy with the consequences, blame no one… but if you feel you must, blame only yourself.

It’s your life. It’s your pursuit. It’s your happiness.

I stand by all of this, even though my life was catastrophically turned upside down on the 1st of January 2017 when my son Hans suddenly died. I am today totally unhappy. I am so deep down a hole it’s difficult for me to imagine myself ever becoming happy again. But I try. I try to pursue happiness; to build a new “normal” life without my son.