The following questions I found on the website: http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/ and thought I'd have a bash at answering them. My answers are only valid for me, your answers may be similar or very, very different.
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
You would be the same age as if you did know. Time is a concept invented by man based on the rotation of the earth and the orbit around the sun. This cycle continues regardless of whether we are aware of it as a passage of time.
OR
This question could mean to ask how old I would think I was, looking from the outside, as a stranger. In which case, on physical appearance I would probably think I was about the same age as I am, psychologically, I might think I was anywhere between 16 and 60 depending on the situation in which I observed myself.
Which is worse, failing or never trying?
They are equally as bad as each other, though the pain is different. I think that the pain of failing is short lived but more intense, whereas the pain of not trying is more subtle and lasts longer (or until you decide to try).
If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
We do things we don’t like because we feel obliged to do them – visit family; go to a job just for the money and not for the enjoyment. Society often makes us feel bad for not doing the expected things, meaning that in order to get along, we do those things which we might not want to do.
I like motorbikes (I don’t own one or know how to ride one). I think there are two major reasons why we like things that we don’t do. One is the fear factor. We like the idea of doing something potentially dangerous but can’t bring ourselves to actually do it. The other factor is the time constraint. We get so caught up in our day to day lives that we find it hard to make the time to do that thing we like or try the thing we want to do.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
I think I will have said more than I’ve done, not only because I like to talk and write but because there’s a lot I want to do but will probably never get around to doing. I think as long as you’re happy with what you have done and can live with what you’ve said you’d do and didn’t then it’s a life well lived.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
The materialistic nature of society. I have no problem with ownership, I just have an issue with the cost of buying those things. Having withings and wanting things is not being materialistic. Wanting something because it is more expensive than something else, or because no-one else has it is materialistic. We have become a society that values the dollar more than we value our values.
If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
I would do the same thing I do now, work with children in an active environment. I suppose, looking at it from the premise of this question, I am already as rich as I could ever hope to be.
Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
I think my life is a mixture of both. I love what I do and I believe in the value of doing it as fulfilment of myself: being a parent, the work I do, the other interests I have and partake in. I have also settled in that I haven’t tried in any real sense to extend myself or better myself recently.
If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
Probably not. I might date a bit more. And it depends on whether it was the same process of aging but sped up to shorten the lifespan to 40 years or whether you aged as you do now, then dropped dead at 40.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
I think it’s about 50/50. Somethings have been completely my own choosing. Some have been influenced by others and some things have been forced upon me (both good and bad).
Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
Again, I think I worry about both. I want to do things right, I am a perfectionist. I also want to do the right things (as seen by others and by myself). I would like to be able to worry less about the outcome, rather than the reason behind what I am doing.
You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
With all due respect and admiration to the people I am with, I would correct them if they said something erroneous about a friend of mine and have done this before. I think if they are critising based on information that is flawed then I should correct the information so they can come to an informed critique of the person and/or their actions.
If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Learn from the mistakes of others, it saves you having to make the same mistakes yourself.
Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Yes. There is no hesitation in answering this. I would do anything to protect and/or save my family and close friends.
Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
I’m not sure about insanity, but stupidity definitely. I recently had a revelation, or maybe a reawakening of a thought: A person can be incredibly creative in one manner and yet you find the rest of their work to be incredibly stupid.
What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Eat spaghetti / noodles.
How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
Individuality: culture, religion, generation gap, gender, sexuality, friends, family, genetics. There are probably a few basic, fundamental phenomena that make most people happy but all in all be are a product of what we are, what we experience and what we gain from the experience which makkes each individual unique.
What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
Sky Dive: money, time, encouragement, fear.
Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
The idea of the perfect man.
If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
Interstate: Tasmania – it’s beautiful and it’s not busy
International: Scotland or Ireland – the accent
Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Yes. No.
Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
A worried genius because if I were a genius I could figure out a way to solve what was worrying me and then be a joyful genius.
Why are you, you?
Because my brain is wired aspecific way so that it experiences things in certain way and informs future decisions based on what has gone before. In other words, a little bit of nature and a little bit of nurture working together.
Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
Not always but mostly and I hope increasingly more so.
Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
Losing touch with a good friend who lives near by because there is nothing you can blame the loss on but yourself because distance isn’t a factor.
What are you most grateful for?
Choosing not to follow through with thoughts of suicide when I was younger because if I had, I’d never have had my son.
Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
There’s some old memories that I’d like to lose but I think I’d rather not be able to make new ones because I could document my present in some way, through writing it down or videoing it and not have to rely on memory, whereas the old memories have no backup.
Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
No. You can have faith in it being the truth, but you can never really know that it is the truth unless you have challenged it and seen the result for yourself.
Has your greatest fear ever come true?
My greatest fear is being without a partner for the rest of my life. This can only come true the moment I die, so the answer is no.
Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
No, and clearly not, because I don’t remember it.
What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
Finding out someone had a crush on me. It made me believe that I could be just like the other girls.
At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
At the football, cheering on my beloved Sydney Swans with my son and my friends.
If not now, then when?
When it’s convenient, when I have the money, when I have the time, when I have the energy.
If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
It depends on what the achievent is. If you give up nothing for an achievement, then what have you really achieved. We all give up something to achieve: time, money, other opportunities. The real question is whether they are worth losing.
Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes :D
Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
Because most religions support love of an ideal which may be different from another religions ideal and so in order to “save” the followers of the other religion they feel that they must destroy all opposition to their ideal.
Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
In some cases, yes. In some cases no. I believe that nothing is good or evil except the intention which makes it so.
If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
No, because a million dollars doesn’t go very far these days.
Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
More work I enjoy doing.
Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
Sometimes.
When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
When I started this blog. It’s not much but I believe in it.
If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
My son.
Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
No, because in those 10 years I may find someone who can see past my physical imperfections or become famous on my own.
What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being alive is survival mode, truly living is make the most out of every experience, trying new things, being the best person that you can be.
When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
In my case, never. Or when the risk is negligable and the reward guaranteed.
If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
The percieved pressure we feel to be perfect.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
Say yes more often when I was younger and no more often now I’m older.
When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
Everytime I yawn I notice my breathing.
What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
I love my son. I tell him all the time. I love writing. I do it as often as I can.
In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
No, not specifically, as it is an ordinary day.
Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
Both.
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