The 4 Aims of Life

While there are thousands and millions of different activities we can do, there are really only 4 aims or motivations.  Broadly categorized, they are:

  1. Money / power / politics
  2. Pleasure
  3. Social Service
  4. The Quest For God

Note that we are NOT talking about your particular activity....Your business, for example, could be very pleasant, a way to make the world better, or just something you do for the money.

And if you think about it, those 4 aims can be seen as:

  1. Controlling / dominating / using others
  2. Ignoring others as you seek your own self-satisfaction
  3. Serving others, making the world a better place
  4. Transcending the entire social order.

At no time should any one of these aims be more than 50% of your time, nor should they be less than 10%.

So, let's help with a little math here......There are 7 days times 24 hours a day = 168 hours a week.  So let's make things easy, by reducing this by 68 hours for sleeping, eating, dressing, bathrooms, etc. (That's a little less than 10 hours a day total.....seems about right.)

100 hours a week average, living, waking consciousness.

According to the ancients, under no circumstances should you spend an average of:

  1. Less than 10 hours a week on your business, nor more than 50.
  2. Less than 10 hours a week on pleasure, nor more than 50.
  3. Less than 10 hours a week helping make the world a better place, nor more than 50.
  4. Less than 10 hours a week seeking God, nor more than 50.

Of course these are averages, people....Yes, there are vacations, intense times at work, etc......Remember (though it pains me to even have to remind you of this) we are not dealing with legalistic, regimented laws here.....These are guidelines to help you to keep a long, healthy, blessed life.

But any constant, sustained activity outside these parameters is guaranteed to generate what the Hopi Indians call "Koyaanisqatsi", "Life out of balance."

(As an aside, notice how, even in a completely full life, the 14 hours (24 minus 10 for sleep etc) dedicated to Sabbath rest falls perfectly into this 10 / 50 scheme.....Yes, a bit on the "thin" side of the equation, but still, as a "worst case scenario" it still works....Just thought I'd throw that in.)

 

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