Posts by Silverwater

Quote from Root304

Welcome! I can relate to your story of Epicurus accompanying big life changes. The philosophy has been an illuminating companion for me over the past 2 years or so of study.

Thank you!

I hope to gleam some insights as well!

Quote from Kalosyni

Quote from Silverwater

Today, it serves as a reminder of what I thought success and happiness were.....and I think it looks kind of cool

Okay thanks, so that "running guy" is putting out fires, and not on fire himself.

You mentioned Emily Austin's book, so guessing maybe you have already listened to the interview on the Lucretius Today podcast? Part 1and Part 2

Yes, though I think it was a bit of both.

I have not listened to that yet, but look forward to it. I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of content on this site to look through!

Quote from Martin

Welcome Silverwater!

Thanks!

Quote from Kalosyni

Silverwater, Welcome to the forum!

I notice you added an interesting avatar to your profile. If you don't mind, I would be curious to hear about any symbolism or meaning behind it?

Kalosyni Thank you!

I appreciate the question. This was the avatar I used on my corporation's internal social media website when I was first promoted into IT Management and learned the joys of working long hours as a salaried employee. Being IT support, I was on-call all the time, and working nights and weekends putting out "fires" consistently(thus the avatar). I bragged to friends and co-workers about not sleeping, how busy I was, and how much work my team was getting done for the love of the company! I was so PROUD!

Today, it serves as a reminder of what I thought success and happiness were.....and I think it looks kind of cool

Thanks for welcoming me to your community! I hope to contribute to pleasurable discussion and learn from all of you.

Apologies for the longer post. Was tough to summarize how I got here. Like a lot of you, it has been a messy, complicated journey with a lot of ups and downs!

I completed the American Dream "successfully" (MBA six-figure salary, spouse, two kids, big house, boat, RV, etc) and was rewarded with depression, poor health, crushing debt, drug addiction, and little personal time.

A little over a year, I radically changed my life. I quit my job, drained the retirement savings, sold most of my possessions, and moved my family of four into a 300sq ft travel trailer. We've lived simply over the past year, taking pleasure in each other and friends, and prioritizing experience over products. We have recently moved into a small house to accommodate our kid's schooling better, but we still live as we did in the camper. Once the main goal in my life wasn't wealth and work, and I stopped seeking happiness from the things that I bought, I felt a sense of peace I've never felt before

A few weeks ago I was walking out of our public library and the book Living for Pleasure by Emily Austin caught my eye in the new releases section. I never heard of Epicurus, but given my recent personal changes, I thought it would be worth a skim. I quickly learned that the ideas of Epicurus are not something read, but felt, and I think that is one of the huge differences between this and other philosophies(and self-help). Since this is based off natural science, most of the ideas will have justification/evidence in our own lives, feelings, and behavior. There is no need for additional "fluff arguments" to support opinionated foundational claims.

Thank you for the read! I hope to get to know some of you a lot better through discussion and debate!

-Chris